A Silent Obsession
by Vinyufan300
Summary: A horrible accident tore her life apart, but there's someone watching every detail of her downfall. Visibly splitting apart at the seams, will he be the one to piece her life back together or will he silently watch as someone else takes advantage...
1. The Beautiful Crier

A Silent Obsession

(Chapter One)

**The Beautiful Crier**

Tires squealed and the car took off. The bass of the music began to pound hard enough to shake the pictures on the walls of houses nearly a mile away. To the occupants the scene was a blur. Each shot of the burning liquid blurred reality just a little more. Laughter and singing filled the compact car as it sped down the empty freeway. A few more hours and the sun would rise. The engine revved and as the speedometer's needle passed the eighty mile per hour mark. The car flew passed the next few green exits. Unconsciously entering the next exit, the car enters a residential area… and eventually around a thick, unforgiving tree…

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Vivina Viera sat in the waiting room. Her throbbing head rested in her hands as she awaited the news. Worries of what would become of her made her even more nauseous. Her father has brutally scolded her for her actions and promised her she'd be locked up forever for manslaughter for not one but two murders. Her mother could only cry…

A warm hand rested itself upon her shoulder and she lifted her face from her hands. It was the police officer who arrived at the scene. He was young and undoubtedly new to his job. In any other circumstance he was the cop any young girl would want to be arrested by. He was very tall with olive colored skin. With his boyishly good looks, and his flawless physique, this man in uniform could win any heart. "You won't be charged with anything serious, miss."

She just stared at the man. He showed her a warm smile, but there was glint in his eyes that made her question the validity of his statement. "I decided to cut you a break this time."

"It couldn't have been just up to you." She responded narrowing her eyes at him.

"No… it did take a lot of convincing. But it would be a shame to shatter that clean record of yours. Everyone makes mistakes and I personally believe everyone should be allowed a second chance."

She looked away thinking for a moment. Vivina had never been involved in any sort of trouble with the law. She hadn't even gotten a single traffic ticket, but that didn't mean she was an angel.

A doctor entered the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Mr. Leonhart will most likely not make it through the night. His immediate family is with him now and they have requested that we eliminate your rights to visit him."

Vivina shot out of her chair. The dark haired policeman stood slowly watching her every move.

"They can't do that!" she screamed advancing towards the doctor. He backed away almost in fear of the furious petite woman in front of him. Though tiny, her presence did give off a bit of intimidation. Her face consisted of a few piercings. There was one on her eyebrow and one in her nose. Her left ear was pierced all the way around the outside. Her left arm was a sleeve of colorful tattoos that reached her elbow. She had very long, jet, blue-black hair that hung in untamed waves around her shoulders. Yet the most intimidating of all was the look in her light grey eyes that were usually outlined heavily in dark make up.

The police man gently took her arm and pulled her back.

"No! They can't do that!" her piercing voice got louder and the doctor backed away further. The officer wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her back, nodding at the doctor to leave.

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Banned from the funeral, the only thing Vivina could do was visit the graveyard. Both her boyfriend and her close friend died that night yet her friend was buried in a different cemetery. Having her driver's license permanently suspended, she was forced to take the policeman's offer to drive her there after his patrolling hours.

Suspicious eyes peered at the police car that rolled up to the cemetery. The man crouched down behind the tall angel shaped tombstone he had been mourning at. He watched as a young woman carrying what appeared to be a piece of jewelry walked into the graveyard. He slid further back as she came closer. He continued to watch her as she sat down next to a new stone he hadn't yet noticed. He spent a lot of time in this particular cemetery and knew his surroundings very well. At first she appeared calm, he supposed it was a distant friend or an ex lover that she felt indebted to pay her respects to. But then as she placed the necklace on the stone he saw her first tear fall. Her black tears were easily spotted running down her porcelain white cheeks. She threw her face to the sky asking the Gods why.

The man couldn't take his eyes off of her as she hugged the tombstone crying her eyes out. She was beautiful even as her face was twisted in pain. Her cries pulled strings in his heart. After a half hour he felt as if he was hurting as much as she was. He played with the idea of approaching her, but he didn't want to scare her. Being approached at his hour in a cemetery would be startling in general, much less by a person of his appearance. He had finally figured that the person buried under that stone must have been her lover.

A sound near the police car made him aware that he wasn't the only one watching this woman.

"Vivina." The officer called out to her. It was like that was not even her name. She continued to cry softly by the grave of her lost love.

He cringed as he watched the officer approach and touched the shoulder of the young woman. His heightened senses could feel the tears that still needed to be shed. She was not done watched as the man in uniform helped the woman into a standing position and walked her back to the police car.

Returning to his quiet home, he brushed the dust off of his old art supplies. Decades had passed since he'd felt the urge to draw. It was his only way of expressing himself…

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"Are you going to be ok?" the officer asked her once they'd reached the front door of her apartment. Vivina only nodded as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Are you sure? You're not thinking of hurting yourself or…"

"Don't be stupid." Vivina cut him off smiling through her tears. "I'm ok. This is just really hard for me knowing that I caused the death of the man I loved and one of my closest friends." She sniffed and wiped more tears away.

The officer pulled a tablet out of his shirt pocket and scribbled down his number for her. "If you need anything, anything at all please don't hesitate to call." Vivina took the slip of paper from him with a nod and turned away to unlock her door.

"Thanks for everything." She said before retreating into her empty apartment. She only made it to the couch before collapsing again. This was _their_ apartment. Everything around her reminded her of him. His old shoes were still scattered around the front door and a few of his jackets hanging on the coat rack. The drawing of his new tattoo he was about to get was lying out on the coffee table. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend she was anywhere but here.

The next morning she awoke with swollen eyes and a throat sore from crying. It was a good thing she didn't have to go anywhere. She didn't work or go to school which made her parents _very_ proud. However, her boyfriend actually had a pretty good paying job at the chemical plant. He paid the bills around here and took care of her. She wasn't materialistic or anything and didn't _have _to spend money on things like clothes or other meaningless accessories. But if there was something she wanted, she knew how to get her money. Her rare appearances at Seventh Heaven were a sight that any man would pay hundreds to see. Without going nude or even topless, her performance on the stage captivated every man's eyes in the place along with their wallets.

She walked into her small bathroom and turned on the light, stunned by her appearance. She slid inside the shower attempting to wash away her grief. When that didn't work, she dried herself and returned to her bed where she attempted to sleep away her misery.

A call to the house phone at five in the evening eventually woke her. Her mother called to console her, though disappointment was evident in her tone. Vivina hung up with her feeling worse than she had before speaking to her. She decided to fish around her dirty laundry for a cell phone that should be in one of her jean pockets. Of course it was dead, but as soon as she hooked it to the charger the unheard messages came flooding in. She answered not a one of them. Most of them were 'Are you ok?' or 'How are you doing?'. _Of course I'm not ok and how do you _think _I'm doing?! _ She would have answered.

Vivina spent the next two days in complete isolation not speaking, or texting a single word to anyone. One the morning of the third day since the accident there was a knock at her door. She didn't even bother with her disheveled appearance before answering the door. Standing there was her other good friend Paine. The white haired, crimson eyed woman looked her friend over.

"You haven't answered anyone's calls… People get worried you know." Paine, usually not the talker, continued when her friend didn't respond. "Some were thinking you might've hurt yourself."

"Paine, you of all people should know better…" she sighed pushing the door open and stepping inside. Paine took this as an invite and walked in behind her. She shut the door securely and sat with her friend on the sheet covered couch.

"There are no hard feelings from the rest of the gang." Paine said. Vivina glanced up at her soft spoken companion.

"What if it had been you? What if you had been riding with us?" Tears welled in her eyes again and she glanced around her cluttered coffee table for a clean tissue. There were plenty of balled up used ones.

"What ifs are irrelevant at this point, Viv." Paine lit up a cigarette and pushed her pack and lighter towards Vivina.

"Thanks." Vivina muttered as she did the same. The two smoked their cigarettes in silence until Paine spoke again.

"Think of it this way, at least you're not behind bars." Paine flicked her ashes in the ash tray staring at her friend.

Vivina sighed. "It just doesn't feel right though, Paine… I took two lives!" she took a long last drag from her cigarette before aggressively putting it out.

"It was their fault as much as yours for getting into the car with you knowing you'd had that much to drink." Paine handed her the box of tissues that was sitting behind her on the end table. Vivina pulled one out and began to cry again. Tears weren't for Paine. She looked away while her friend cried and waited for her to compose herself.

Paine spent the day at her friend's apartment helping her get the place organized. Paine was in charge of getting most of Vivian's boyfriend's stuff boxed away since it was too hard for her to touch any of his things herself. Cleaning could actually be very therapeutic they both discovered. Later that evening Vivian asked Paine to give her a ride out to the cemetery.

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For the first time in his life, Vincent didn't come to the cemetery to 'speak' with his late Lucrecia. He came in hopes he'd run into the beautiful crier again. Never did he think he would be as attracted to another woman as he'd been to Lucrecia upon first sight. Nor did he think he'd ever have another connection that ran as deep as theirs did. But he _knew_ when he saw that woman crying he had felt her pain. He had watched her the entire three quarters of an hour that she was there. As much as he wanted to deny it and forget he'd ever even seen the girl, he couldn't.

A silver sports car pulled up and he once again dipped low behind his late lover's tombstone. There she was again. This time, there was a woman by her side. He watched as Vivina turned to her friend and seemingly asked her to wait in the car. Her friend responded with a nod and returned to her driver's seat.

The necklace that she'd left the night before was still there. She picked it back up and put it on staring at the emblem for a while. He watched as her attention returned to the tombstone where she traced the letters of her late lover's name with her slender pale fingers. He watched her as she mourned undisturbed for a briefer fifteen minutes before returning to the silver car. Worried this may have been her final visit, he swiftly left his spot behind the tombstone and darted in and out behind several trees as he followed the car out of the graveyard's parkway.

**PS: This was orginally going to be a Yuffentine, but I just didn't think Yuffie's personality fit the part and i didn't want to have to make her out of character either. And this story is slightly AU but it does take place in a modern day Midgar. AND there's gonna be alot of cameo appearances of other various FF characters because I'm not good at coming up with OCs... **


	2. The Mysterious Artist

(Chapter 2)

**The Mysterious Artist**

A week after the deaths came the trial and a week after the trial Vivina found herself scrubbing the floors of a fast food restaurant for some quick extra cash to help pay for her fines. Not that she was complaining, paying fines was much better than spending years in prison. Though her reputation was completely tarnished amongst society, the people that knew her knew how deeply regretful she was and how guilty she was feeling. She thought of dancing for the extra cash, but she was afraid that instead of money, bottles would be thrown on the stage at her.

Paine's car pulled up to the curb just in time for Vivina to come walking out of the restaurant. The smell of fast food filled the car as she sat down in the passenger seat. Paine hid her smirk, knowing that under the circumstances this may not be the best of times to joke with her friend about the smell. Vivina, who had gotten so used to the smell in the restaurant hadn't even noticed that she carried it with her that strongly.

"Thanks a lot, Paine for all you've done for me." She said as she got out of her friend's car.

Paine shook her head dismissing the unneeded thanks.

"See ya tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Paine said rolling off down the dark side street. Vivina turned towards her apartment complex noticing the cop car parked nearby. She met the officer halfway through the path to her apartment.

"A hard one to catch these days." He commented with a smile. Vivina managed a small smile in return.

"It's gonna be hard coming up with that kind of cash." She looked away with a sigh. Tonight was a warm, humid night. Vivina hoped whatever he came here to say was brief as the thick air made it hard to even breathe out there.

"I'd be happy to donate." he offered generously.

Vivina crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

He shrugged. "Is that a bad thing?"

She tossed her hair back and returned the shrug. "What's in it for you?"

He shook his head. "I'm not asking for anything in return. I just think you are a really great girl that has made an unfortunate mistake and deserves a break. That's all." She could not deny this man had a natural charm. Even without his looks, his charm alone was enough to win anyone over. But her heart was closed and would not be won over by some pretty boy in uniform.

"I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I can do this on my own. I'm a big girl; I wear the big girl panties now." She said with a wink as she walked past him. He turned to her surprised by her humor.

"Goodnight then, big girl." He said through a laugh. "And please do call me if you need me."

"Will do, officer." Vivina said as she started down the outdoor corridor to her apartment.

"Call me Preston!" he called in her direction. She didn't bother to turn back and look at him. She pulled the mail from her mailbox and entered her humble abode. She threw her mail on the coffee table and it lay there amongst other unopened mail. After she returned from a long shower to wash the fast food smell off her, she sat down on the couch to sort out her mail. The first two she didn't bother with as they were sent to her from the court. She noticed an unmarked envelope with no stamp on it in the midst of the pile. Her immediate instincts lead her to believe it was a letter from the dead. Her heart pounded as she slipped her finger under the corner of the opening. She traced her finger slowly across the paper, ripping open the sealed note. Right away she noticed the thicker sheet inside was drawing paper. She slipped the folded paper out of its enveloped and flipped it open. She dropped it and held her chest in shock.

It was a drawing of her!

Composing herself a bit she studied the drawing noticing how every single detail was captured with the upmost accuracy. There she was sitting on her knees in front of his grave, black tears running down her face, and in her right hand was the necklace that she clenched tightly in her hand. The only thing inaccurate about the picture was her eyes. Instead of staring down at the grave as she knew she was at that moment. Her eyes were focused on the viewer so that anyone looking at this picture would think the Vivina portrayed here was staring them in the face.

"Who would do this?" she asked herself out loud. Her boyfriend had never been an artist so even in death she doubted he could draw her like this. Plus now with her senses clearer, the idea of receiving a drawing from the dead seemed silly. It was definitely the police officer! She relaxed against her couch in relief. He had just come walking from this direction so he probably slipped it in her mailbox just moments ago. She pulled out her cell and dialed his number to be sure.

Within a few rings came his answer.

"Did you really draw this?" she asked through a smile.

"Draw what?"

"The picture that was in my mailbox." Her smile faded and she sat up stiffly straight again. There was a pause. "You didn't…"

"Are you ok?"

Vivina shook her head, then realizing he couldn't see her she spoke. "I…I'm fine. Goodnight." She hung up in a hurry and ignored his returning calls. _Who did this?_

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He clipped her picture from the newspaper. It was a small picture of her in handcuffs from the night of the accident. She looked so scared… so fragile. The controversial decision to let this young lady off disturbed many residents of the bustling town. She was a murderer to many and deserved her time behind bars. He knew this feeling very well. Similar clippings from a much older newspaper told a story of a different type of murder. One that was committed willingly and one that society shall never forgive.

As he lay upon the sheets of his bed in his pitch black room, he wondered if she'd gotten the picture. He wondered what she thought of it. He wished he could have seen her reaction. He hoped he hadn't scared her as that wasn't his intent. The delivery of the photo proved to be quite difficult as a certain police car continued to make its rounds frequently near the complex.

The image of her just would not leave his mind. Sleep was his sanctuary. Should it be up to him he would remain asleep for all eternity, but this curse would not allow it. And tonight, the thought of _her_ would not allow it.

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Vivina took the drawing along with her as she left her apartment for her part time job. "Paine! Look at this!"

Paine took the paper out of her hands, squinting as she analyzed it. "Pretty good… Who's the artist?"

"I don't know… I found it in my mailbox yesterday. I already called that police officer that's been like practically stalking me and it wasn't him." She sighed staring over at the drawing. Paine seemed to be in deep thought for awhile.

"You know, there's a rumor that the East Midgar cemetery is haunted."

"N..no, no! Don't tell me things like that." Vivina looked out the window watching the people on the streets. Her friend spoke not another word until they arrived at the restaurant. She could barely concentrate on work wondering about this person who'd drawn her. Crying there in front of her lover's grave, she felt as if she were being watched. But her heart told her that from above it was her lover's gaze piercing her that way. Now she knew differently…

She pushed the wet mop along the tiled floor; her mind clouded with questions. Closing time was in less than an hour and she swore to herself that she would get out of here early. She tried hard to stay focused on what she was doing, but then there was that feeling again… Someone had been watching her and they were doing it right now. The rowdy late night crowd was still hanging around the tables. Hardly any of the groups were eating, only goofing off. A couple in a booth at the back of the restaurant hadn't stopped making out since they'd gotten here. Their food lay on their table half eaten. Vivina's eyes continued to scan the place. Her heart rate rapidly increased and the urge to take safety under one of the tables pulled at her.

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From the tree across the street, sharp eyes watched her as she slaved away at her part time job. He felt for her, knowing her agony. His quick hands sketched away as a new concept came to mind. There she was, visor pulled down low covering her eyes. To express the sadness and distress he knew she must be feeling he included a black tear rolling down her cheek. He knew she must feel she's in hell so all the people sitting at the tables were drawn as demons reaching out to her desperately. His brow lowered in concentration as he hurried to finish the drawing before the end of her shift.

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Finally she was out of that greasy, smelly place. She stepped outside pulling her visor off and letting her hair down. She stood at the curb and looked down the street where Paine's car was rolling up. A light breeze rustled the paper that was taped to the stop sign she stood beside.

Her heart tightened as she stared at the folded drawing paper. It was the same exact type of paper she'd received in her mailbox so she knew it was meant for her. With an unsteady hand she pulled it off the sign and opened it. She gasped and nearly dropped the paper. So he was watching her… She looked both ways down the street. Outside of Paine's vehicle coming closer, there was nothing. She spun around quickly. Nothing…

Paine's tire scraped the curb as she pulled up a little too closely. The noise almost sent Vivina out of her skin and into the ground. She pulled open the car door and sat down in a hurry, tossing the drawing into Paine's lap without saying a word.

"Another picture from your mysterious admirer?" Paine muttered the question softly as she looked over the picture. Vivina let out a shaky sigh. Her friend instantly turned her focus on her face making sure she was ok.

"What if it's not an admirer?" she asked. "What if this is the bad karma coming to get me. It's definitely a killer. Paine I'm going to get murdered!"

Paine let a rare soft chuckle slip. "I've never seen you so uptight." She handed her friend the drawing. "It could just be someone trying to scare you." Vivina sighed softly ashamed of her outburst and of her fear. She wasn't one to get so upset over things.

She nodded agreeing with her friend before relaxing against her seat as the car took off towards her apartment. Once inside she sat down on her bed with both drawings in her hands. _Who would waste __**this**__ kind of talent on me anyways?_

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Tonight it was raining. A quiet thunder gently sounded in the distance. He sat on the edge of the wall over the river scowling into the green waves below him. Two blocks away in her apartment Vivina lay on her bed staring out the window at the rain. It had been three days since she'd received her last drawing, but the feeling of being watched came over her every once in a while. She made up her mind and after getting dressed set out into the now heavier rain.

She ran down the sidewalk with nothing more than a pair of torn jeans, a white T-shirt and a hooded black sweatshirt over it.

Through the sound of the rain, Vincent's sensitive ears picked up footsteps long before they were even within fifteen yards of him. He didn't bother to look up not at all expecting _her. _Vivina noticed a figure covered head to toe in black clothing sitting on the wall, but thought nothing of the person. She even sped up as she got closer. Time froze as she passed by less than a foot away from his back. Vincent's eyes snapped open as her scent consumed him. His head snapped in her direction, but she was already at least ten feet away.

He continued to stare down at the water knowing it didn't matter how close she was he'd never be able to talk to her. He'd never be able to touch her. Being wrapped in her scent was the closest he'd ever be to her. He was a monster with no right to interact with such a flawless human. He pulled his already low hood down further so that not even his nose was seen. Vivina wasn't the only one this society hated. If only they knew he was still around… Eventually he headed down to the cemetery where the only woman who he could be close to even if it _was_ only in spirit.

Vivina searched all through the cemetery but saw no one. She'd wait here until dark. She _had_ to confront this person. There was no way she could continue to live on with the fear and anxiety this was causing… A vehicle pulled up behind her.

"You're going to catch cold." The smooth male voice warned. She turned around suppressing the glare she wanted to shoot into the car.

"I'm fine, really. You don't have to keep checking up on me like this." There was an edge in her voice that made the officer a bit uncomfortable. He contemplated rolling off and leaving her be, but he felt he didn't have to leave her alone. She was standing here right now free because of him.

"Is it honestly so terrible that someone still cares about you?" he asked. The car shifted backwards as he put himself in park on hill. He got out and approached her hesitantly.

She sighed heavily resting her hand on her hip. She was now well dampened from the rain.

He looked down collecting his thoughts. "I'm sorry… I know you're probably… still upset. I've never lost a significant other so I don't know how you're feeling." He chuckled softly. "Call me ignorant."

She snorted softly and looked away.

"At least let me give you a ride home. They're calling for severe storms all night tonight."

There was silence for awhile until his radio cut in. He ignored it waiting for her to reply. She took one last scan around the cemetery listening hard for any sounds before taking a few steps towards his cop car.

Vincent had been watching the whole time. His eyes were more on the police officer than her. He squeezed his eyes shut damning himself for the torture he was about to put himself through. Nevertheless, there was another image for him to draw.

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Hours later Vivina stepped out of the warm shower. The room was filled with steam so thick her image in the mirror was only a blur of black hair and white skin. On the way to her bedroom she heard a banging sound right outside her door. Quickly she realized it had to be someone slamming her mailbox shut. She ran to the door in just her towel and ripped it open looking back and forth. Carelessly she ran to the end of the hall and looked both ways in that direction but there was no one.

Vincent was standing the second floor of the small apartment complex staring down at her. His lip twitched slightly with the unfamiliar urge to smile. Somehow he knew that she was in too much of a frenzy to think about simply looking up.

She sighed heavily returning to her apartment taking the paper from the mailbox. She didn't even hesitate to open it this time. Yet it shocked her once again just how perfect the picture was almost as if he'd taken it with a camera in black and white. There she was standing in the cemetery, damp from the rain, looking for him. She realized this was merely four hours ago and for him to have already completed such a perfect picture had to be some sort of supernatural phenomenon.


	3. A Sister's Concern

(Chapter 3)

**A Sister's Concern**

Vivina left the court house feeling relieved she'd finally gotten her fines paid off. It only happened this quickly because of Paine and her idea to sell off Vivian's late lover's things. She was completely against this idea at first but Paine's reasoning was clearly the right way to go. Vivina wasn't into the movies he watched or the video game systems he owned so there were no reasons to keep them. The biggest thing was his bass guitar. He had his name Squall and the emblem he created for himself engraved in the expensive wood. His last name Leonhart inspired the unique lion shaped symbol. She closed her eyes remembering the moment she sat with him in the tattoo parlor watching him get that very image tattooed on his arm. The memory was so vivid she could still hear the buzz of the gun and see his fearless smile.

She opened her eyes and letting the built up tears roll down her cheeks. The buyer slowly removed the guitar from her hands and pushed small stack of hundred dollar bills towards her. The guitar was worth thousands, but of course it was worn and the new owner would have to replace the engraving…

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Nights alone in the apartment were still hard to bear. Now that there weren't enough tears to cry herself to sleep in, she was left with silence. She was trying her hardest not to continue to bug Paine. She'd been putting up with so much of her distress lately it wasn't fair. Paine never burdened anyone with her problems she shouldn't be the one dealing with everyone else's.

She stared at the ceiling, her face was so numb she couldn't feel the tears trailing down the sides of her face and soaking her raven hair. The only sound in the room was her breath in and out through her lips. She could no longer breathe through her nose. Every once in a while she would try to with the result of more pressure on her already throbbing head from the congestion. The ceiling began to change from its pitch blackness to a dull blue and finally to a bright white. Vivina turned her head to the side only to cringe as the first ray of sun nearly blinded her. There was no way it could be Sunday already…

She struggled to get herself out of bed and decently dressed. Her older sister Lulu was in town this weekend. She avoided her by working last night, but today she was to have lunch with her. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her sister. In fact, Lulu would be the most understanding and rational in this situation, but she knew that she would ask all the details. The last thing Vivina wanted to do was relive the entire ordeal.

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_Not having a driver's license is really becoming a pain…_ Vivina thought as she began walking up the sidewalk. She could already see the rain clouds rolling in. Luckily the café she was headed to was only four blocks away. Three blocks into the walk she wondered just where her friend the cop was. He seemed to always just pop up whenever she didn't want anyone to see her, but in a time like this when she wouldn't mind having a ride, where was he? She kept looking behind her checking to see if her other follower was watching. She couldn't feel it…

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

"Yeah…" she answered in a soft voice.

"Where are you? I've been here for almost ten minutes." Lulu said in her monotonous tone. Vivina sighed and just then a rain drop hit the back of her hand. Midgar had to be the rainiest city in Gaia.

"I'm two buildings away, Lu. I don't have a license remember? I kinda had to walk." She tried to keep the sharpness out of her tone, but somehow she did slip.

Under the circumstances, Lulu let the sharp tone slide. "Ok." She said within a sigh. The sisters hung up and a minute later Vivina stepped inside the café. Lulu sat at a secluded table near the back of the place. That was a sign she wanted to talk for a while. Vivina looked down as she walked back to the table not quite ready to make eye contact with her yet. Lulu eyed her from the time she walked through the door.

"Long time no see." She said setting down her glass of water.

The two met eyes for the first time. Lulu hadn't changed a bit since Vivina had last seen her. Despite their different styles, the two looked so much alike they could nearly pass for twins. Vivina's face was a bit more rounded and youthful. She could pass for a few years younger than she was while Lulu looked every bit of her twenty-four years. Vivina also missed on their mother's blessing of a bountiful bosom. She had enough, but not nearly as much as her sister. She used to be so jealous of the attention Lulu would get, but now as she matured she realized how much more of a curse they were than a blessing. Lulu still wasn't settled with a man who loved her for her…

The bells chimed as another customer entered the café. Vivina looked back at the man in the long black trench coat and black fedora. It wasn't that she found him of any interest at all just something to distract her from the curious eyes in front of her. Lulu cleared her throat before asking.

"So, how are things?"

As the man walked closer, Vivina quickly looked away and back at her sister just in time to catch the question. "Far worse than you can imagine."

Her sister sighed. "Should you not feel blessed? I certainly am glad to be visiting you right now in a café rather than behind a glass window." Lulu always brought out the positive in a situation, but with the most negative tone one could muster.

"I'd rather rot. Maybe it'd make me feel less guilty…" she looked down at the short menu instantly deciding upon their famous grilled cheese sandwich.

"No amount of time in jail is going to make up for two lives lost. You'll always be guilty. Be happy to spend your guilt trip in the comfort of your own home." She took a sip of her water and looked back at her menu.

Vivina had no comment for that one. Instead she simply stacked her menu on top of Lulu's as she finished deciding. The waiter came and took their order removing the menus from the table.

"So… how's your life?"

"We aren't here to talk about me."

The sisters eyed each other again. Vivina's eyes narrowed into a glare. Lulu simply raised an eyebrow waiting for her sister's next comment.

"Look, Lu, I really don't want to talk about it."

Lulu sighed. "If you can live with it all bottled up that way, then so be it. I only came because mother asked me to. She's worried you'll hurt yourself."

Vivina rolled her eyes and raked her fingers through her hair. "She's stupid."

Lulu narrowed her eyes.

"I'm fine, Lu, really. Paine's been helping me out a lot and so has the police officer that…" she paused lower her voice to a whisper. "..got me out of this." She smirked slightly. "I've even acquired a stalker." She lifted the flap on her bag and pulled out a folder she kept all the drawings in. Lulu gave her an odd glance as she took the folder from her hands and opened it.

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"Have you decided, sir?" the waiter asked staring down at the suspicious customer. He'd been sitting in this dark corner for the past fifteen minutes without ordering anything. Vincent didn't look up at the man. He fished around in his pocket and glanced down at the small amount of money in his hands. He didn't know what to order or how much it'd cost… He glanced at the brochure that was folded into a triangle on the table and pointed to the small sundae printed there.

"Alright. Is that all?"

Vincent didn't respond.

"Uh..ok I'll have it right out in a second." He spun around and immediately started chatting up the waitress he worked with about the strange customer. Vincent continued to watch her. He saw her hand the other woman a folder and watched as the woman awed over his drawings. He knew she was obviously her sister by their strikingly similar appearance. Yet Lulu didn't have the same impact as Vivina did on him. That proved to him that it wasn't just her beauty that was drawing him in like this, there had to be something else about her…

/\

\/

"Does your cop friend plan on catching this creep?" Lulu asked after looking at all the drawings.

Vivina shrugged. "I honestly haven't told him yet. I kinda… want to figure this one out on my own. I need a good mystery like this to keep my mind off things at least part of the time."

Lulu put the drawings back in the folder and handed them back. "It would be interesting to know just who the talent is behind those. Yet they could be dangerous…"

Vivina sighed putting her folder back in the bag. "I can promise you that I'd never hurt myself… but if something were to ever happen to me… it doesn't matter. If whoever it is really is like some deranged serial killer and he eventually kills me, I'm ok with that."

"Vivina." Lulu said with conviction.

"What?"

"Don't talk that way."

Vivina sighed. Luckily the food came before she had to endure further scolding. After the two ate, Vivina quickly excused herself to the bathroom. She just had to get out from under Lulu's scrutinizing glare just for a second. Not to mention her eyes were so tired from the lack of sleep she threw a few handfuls of cold water on her face to shock herself awake again. She shut off the water and turned for a paper towel when she heard a light shuffle. She spun around and watched as a piece of folded drawing paper came shooting out from underneath the door. Vivina gasped and dove towards the door. She pulled the heavy door open just seconds too short of catching the culprit. There was an emergency exit door at the end of the hall where the bathrooms were…

The waiter came around to the table carrying the small sundae. "Here you a…" he looked down and saw an empty seat.

/\

\/

Vincent walked through the rain disgusted with himself. Why couldn't he just stop?! He took in a sharp breath trying to contain the anger before it transformed him into something he wished more than anything he couldn't become. He released the breath with a shaky sigh. He just wanted to be home. To sleep for an eternity and never wake up again, but he knew that wouldn't be possible. He couldn't deny it. He'd go home and plot the next time he could see her. He really wanted to move up a step. He needed to be close to her… Just for a second. If he could just feel her skin under his fingertips… that would be enough. He'd stop there.

/\

\/

Vivina didn't look at the picture until she was back in her apartment alone. She didn't want to get Lulu any more involved than she already was. She threw herself back onto her bed and flipped open the paper. It was of her sitting at the table. Lulu was in the picture, but her picture was faintly drawn and blurred. Vivina was drawn as usual looking towards the viewer. She gasped at the ability this person had to portray such an intense longing in her eyes. She felt as if her altered facial expressions in the pictures were really portraying what the artist himself was feeling… She certainly didn't remember giving anyone that look today.

"Who are you?" she wondered out loud.

Her cell phone vibrated again.

_I will not mention the drawings to our parents. But I would suggest getting your police man involved._

Vivina rolled her eyes and closed the phone not bothering to text her back. She didn't want anyone else involved. Though at first it did scare her, now more than ever, she was ready to meet this person. If it was a person… She rolled onto her side contemplating. Could it be him? Was this really Squall's doings? The drawings were done so incredibly fast they almost had to be done by some sort of ghost.

Or what if it really was a serial killer? With her face and name all over the newspapers there for a while, anyone could have picked her out as a target. Her unique beauty had always made her stand out anyways for her to be broadcasted like that made it easy for anyone to notice her. She wondered how long they were going to prolong this before they finally just broke in and did away with her… She could almost hear Lulu scolding her for thinking that way. Vivina hated the way Lulu tried to be the third parent to her, but she understood why. She was her only sister and whether or not Lulu would admit it, she loved her.


	4. Seventh Heaven

**A/N: **Oh yeah, forgot a disclaimer. I don't own any of these characters. Though I did and will make some changes to them. Like Baralai's hair color is dark brown…

(Chapter 4)

**Seventh Heaven**

"You… you're fired."

Vivina's eyes widened as she stared at her uneasy boss. He didn't meet her eyes. Instead he fiddled with the last button of his dress shirt. The empty restaurant was silent for a moment.

"Why?!" Though she hated this job with a passion, the rent had to be paid somehow.

"Customers have been complaining…" his gaze flickered from her face back down to the button on his shirt.

Vivina sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. She ripped off her visor and threw it to the floor. "Fine! Fuck you, fuck this place, and fuck your stupid customers! I don't need this!" She pushed past him nearly knocking the much taller, skinny man to the floor. She ripped her work shirt off and threw it in the trash on her way out leaving herself only dressed in a black tank top. There was a cool mist coming down, yet it couldn't chill her. Her face was red with anger.

It was two days from the dinner with Lulu. Everywhere she went people were whispering, scrutinizing, and some would boldly confront her. She _knew_ she should be behind bars, she _knew _she'd taken two lives! Hot tears trailed down her cheeks. She roughly wiped them away. Not wanting to count on Paine so much, she'd been catching taxis home. Not tonight. She broke out into a run down the street opposite of the direction home. It felt good to just run like that with no destination or reason. She closed her eyes for just a brief moment…

Bright light flashed and her eyes shot open. Tires squealed to a halt swerving to miss her. "Stupid bitch!" a female voice yelled. Vivina glared back at them before continuing to run. She ran until both her legs and lungs ached. She ended up near a string of bars. It was only a little after one in the morning and already there were drunken people hanging on to the light poles waiting for their taxis. Two cops were talking to a woman who may have possibly been a prostitute by the way she dressed. Vivina recognized one of the cops and before she could quickly turn around and get out of his view he saw her. He left his partner to deal with the woman and jogged over to her.

"Vivina."

"Isn't this completely unprofessional?" she asked casually looking back at his partner then at his face. He flashed her a million dollar smile.

"I was actually supposed to be off duty at one. We just got a little last minute call out here, but it's nothing Chief Nooj can't handle." He started towards his police car and Vivina followed knowing she was way too far from home to walk. He turned to her. "Were you needing a ride?"

She just nodded.

The silence in the car was too much for him so he talked about his day and a few of the funny traffic stops he had. Vivina was listening, but didn't add her input. He glanced over at her dropping his cheerful tone.

"Is everything ok?"

"I got fired today…" her voice sounded so distant.

"Th..that's not good. Not good at all." He sighed, unsure of what else to say.

Vivina didn't even notice a tear drop from her eye as she stared absentmindedly out the window at the passing scenery under the street lights. Baralai Preston did. Feeling unlucky by his parent's choice of first name, he simply went by Preston. Officer Preston if you're in trouble.

He chose not to bother her any more until they arrived at the small apartment complex. He turned off the car and noticed she didn't jump out as soon as the engine cut so he assumed she wanted company.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright." He spoke gently.

Vivina's stray tears turned into full blown sobs. She shook her head no as she brought her hands to her face to hide her crying and save at least some dignity.

Envious eyes glared into the car as the officer put his arm around her bringing her close to him. Vincent turned away from the scene not able to watch anymore. What did it matter? That would never be him… He closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly fighting off the urge to get angry. He had to stop this. This was unhealthy, even for _him_. A car door opening alarmed him and he slid behind a tree, peering around it. But he _couldn't_ stop.

"Hey wait…" Baralai said softly catching Vivina in front of the patrol car. His lights were still on. He attempted to hold her again, but her hands went up defensively and pushed against his chest.

"No…" Vivina wiped her eyes. "I'm fine, really. I don't need this…" she looked down squinting into the bright lights of the car.

"You're not fine." He gingerly touched her tattooed arm. It was still misting outside and a heavy fog was setting in. Vivina's hair began sticking to her face as it dampened. Her eyes slowly met his. As sincere and as real as he seemed, she just couldn't. Not now, not this soon…

Baralai spent his days wondering just why in the world he cared so much for this girl. With her persistent avoidance, and rejections he'd nearly given up all together. But now he didn't care… He'd wear his heart on his sleeve from now on and if it meant getting it broken then so be it. She was worth the risk to him.

/\

\/

The next day came. She got a call from Paine earlier questioning her about how life was going. She told her about losing her job and how she was still being watched by someone. Paine was to stop by later to see the rest of them and to pick her up to go out to Seventh Heaven. Tonight they were just going to have a few drinks amongst themselves and the rest of the gang, but Vivina had also planned on seeing if she could be booked a few nights a week to dance.

She leaned over the sink towards the mirror as she applied a thick layer of eyeliner on her eyes, followed by some dark purple eye shadow that matched her dark purple, sleeveless top. After applying her makeup she took a step back and looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't made herself up like this since… She shook her head not wanting to think about it. Before she could fight off the memories for another second her phone rang. She answered eagerly thinking it was Paine.

"Hello?"

"Wow you sound a lot better." A warm voice said before chuckling softly. Vivina rolled her eyes, but to her surprise she found herself fighting a smile. "So what's on your agenda?"

"My friend invited me up to Seventh Heaven tonight." She answered moving from the bathroom and into her bedroom.

"Sounds like a great time. You girls be safe though." He grinned as he turned another corner in his cruiser.

"I've learned my lesson." She said dropping her smile. He dropped his as well realizing the hole he must have accidentally opened. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry… just have fun, ok. I want to see what that gorgeous face looks like when it smiles." He began grinning again at the sudden burst of confidence he had. Vivina was shocked by the confidence as well. She covered the shock by a small chuckle.

"Sure. Well I'm sure I'll run into later…"

"Of course. See you later."

Vivina hung up the phone and tossed it aside as she searched for the perfect bottoms to fit her outfit. Before long Paine did indeed call her and was waiting outside to pick her up. Vivina noticed right off the bat Paine seemed uneasy.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she sat down in her friend's car.

Paine shook her head contemplating on whether or not she should tell her friend what she'd just seen. She still felt eyes watching her. As if just waiting for her to try to say something. She thought back to what she'd just witnessed as if justifying whether or not it really happened. A tall man dressed in a black trench coat walked slowly down the outdoor hallway by the three apartment buildings stopping directly in front of Vivina's. He lifted open the mailbox and slid a piece of paper into it before taking off in at an impossible rate of speed.

"Nothing, I just felt like someone's watching… Maybe you really do have a stalker." She chuckled unconvincingly and quickly took off down the street. Her eyes darted down the side streets in search for the man. Vivina wasn't stupid.

"You saw him." She said in a whisper staring at her white haired friend.

Paine just nodded.

"What did he look like?" Vivina demanded in a louder voice.

Paine shook her head then shrugged. "I didn't see his face, just the back of him. He wore a long black trench coat, with an old fashioned fedora type hat."

As soon as those words left her mouth Vivina's mind instantly flew back to that moment in the café with Lulu. That was him! She had stared at him for nearly thirty seconds. It pissed her off at how close she was to confronting him.

Paine looked over at her friend. "You've seen him too."

"I didn't know it was him at the time. He followed me into the café the day I had lunch with Lulu. I didn't think anything of him then, but after what you just said I know it had to be him." Vivina stared out the window before jumping up suddenly.

"It's only a little after eleven. I know that café stays open until midnight. Could you please take me by there?" She stared up over at her friend with eager eyes. Paine was glad to see another emotion besides depression on her friends face. She nodded.

"He won't be there." She said simply.

"I know. I just want to ask the waiter if he knows him. If maybe he's been in there before." Vivina turned back to the window waiting to pull up beside the café. As soon as the car got next to the curb she jumped out and ran into the nearly empty café. _My luck must be turning around…_ Vivina thought as she saw the exact same waiter from the other day.

"Hey… uh may I help you?" he asked politely, slightly alarmed after she came barging into the place like that. The chimes on the door where still going crazy as they clanked their rhythmic sounds loudly.

"This is going to sound crazy, but three days ago I came here with my sister…"

"Yeah, yeah I remember you girls." He grinned. _How could I forget such faces?_ Vivina read the thought right out of his mind. She continued anyway.

"There was a man that came in right after us, dressed in a trench coat and…"

"Right! The weird guy! He sat back there watching you two the entire time. He finally ordered a kids sundae off the specials menu then darted out of here before I could even bring it to him." He laughed thinking of the entire scenario as a joke. Vivina wasn't laughing, finding the identity of this person was important.

"Do you know who he was?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head no. "Uh uh. Never seen him before. No one had. It was really weird." She was surprised at how disappointed she was. What did this weirdo stalker mean to her anyways? It was silent for a while except for the soft jazz music in the background. The waiter stood smiling at her waiting for her next response.

"Thanks…" she muttered before hurrying outside again.

/\

\/

Seventh Heaven had really been bringing in the business lately. The place was so packed. She wondered how the sole bartender handled all this craziness. She could see Tifa Lockhart pour a row of shot, flip an empty bottle in the trash and pull out a new one in a matter of a few seconds. She wondered when she could get her alone to ask the favor.

She and Paine made their way to the bar. When they were close enough, Tifa's eye managed to catch her old employee. "Viv!!" she shrieked, waving wildly. Vivina managed a small smile. Maybe not everyone in the world had turned their back on her. Tifa handed a shot to a guy in front of her and instructed him to hand it to Vivina. He did so gratefully.

"On the house!" she yelled before quickly getting back to business.

Vivina thought she could do it at first, but the scent of alcohol nearly made her sick. She handed the shot to Paine as the two headed towards the lounge area.

Vincent found his way into a dark corner where he could watch over everything. He was at least an inch or two taller than most people in the room so it wasn't hard to keep track of her. He watched her sit down on a couch and shake hands with another female. Others came up to her and hugged her. Most seemed very welcoming, but not everyone.

Vivina felt a tap on her shoulder. As soon as she turned around, a cold burning liquid splashed her in the face, soaking her shirt. She gasped and quickly wiped her eyes. She looked up to see Squall's sister Selphie. She glared hard at her before throwing the glass cup in Vivina's face and walking away.

Vincent's fists tightened.

Paine went with her to the bathroom to help dry her off. A few of the other dancers were in there dressing in their costumes. This wasn't a strip club so these were go-go dancers.

"I wonder what we are going to do without Yuna?" one of the girls asked the other. "She's the crowd favorite. Everyone's gonna be expecting her. They are gonna boo at just the two of us."

One of them spun around and looked at Vivina. "Hey! It's you! You used to dance here right? We really need a third person tonight."

Vivina smirked. "I don't think I'm gonna be a crowd favorite." She pointed at her wet, alcohol reeking shirt.

The two girls looked at each other then back at Vivina.

/\

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The crowd quieted realizing a show was about to start. Vivina's heart pounded preparing herself for the worst. Her old costume fit her quite a bit snugger than before. All that sitting home, moping, and eating pizza and ice cream must have been catching up. The other two girls didn't notice. It had been forever since she had walked in these knee high, three inch heeled boots. What if she slipped? Bass boomed and a spot light appeared in the center of the stage. The pole in the center was merely a prop. "On three." The girl behind her whispered.

"1…"

Vivina sucked her breath in.

"2…"

Her heart stopped.

"3…"

Someone must have said something to the band because they started playing _her _song. That was enough to soothe her nerves as she stepped out into the light. Many skeptic eyes glared at her in the dark crowd. Half of them were slaughtered with the first swing of her hips. The other two girls joined her and she got a little more comfortable. The more at ease she was, the better the crowd reacted.

Vincent couldn't tear his eyes away, though the sight was making him physically ill. How could one want someone so badly it made them sick!? This didn't make sense. Suddenly his trench coat was a million degrees too hot, but he couldn't shed it.

Vivina shot a seductive smile out to the crowd as she slid herself into a sideways split. She quickly pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned forward into the crowd receiving a five dollar bill down her shirt. The other girls were working the crowds on the sides, receiving showers of dollar bills. Vivina made her way over to the pole. She twisted her body around it like a snake slithering down a tree. The men in the crowd went wild for her signature move and dished out the dough. The performance was over before she knew it and relief fell over her as the lights came back on in the bar. She smiled as she took a look down at her spectators. Then she saw him.

Vincent couldn't be sure, but he noticed her freeze and stare in his direction. He took off his sunglasses and looked up again. Much to his despair, he was indeed locking eyes with _her. _


	5. Why?

(Chapter 5)

**Why?**

Vivina tossed and turned all through the following night. There was a face now behind the talent, behind the creepy stalking... But she still didn't have an answer to her biggest question. Why waste this kind of talent and this kind of _time_ on her?

Vincent couldn't sleep much either, though fighting with himself was getting tiring. He couldn't stop watching her or tormenting himself with the idea of her. He didn't want to be this pathetic to stoop to this low of a level. He was a _stalker_, a creep and above all a monster. What he needed to do was find a coffin somewhere and let someone burry him alive. Nothing could be worse than the state of his life right now...

Weeks went by and thanks to Tifa, Vivina had less time to worry over her strange admirer. Not only did she excitably accept her offer to dance again, but scheduled her for a few evenings to help her bartend. Her faithful police officer went out of his way to make sure he was available to give her a ride home every morning at four. This worked out great as she was able to sleep all day and not have to venture out into the public until much later when the more laid back crowds were out. In the dark alleys at night she was admired for dodging that bullet. Hell, if any of them could befriend a cop and get out of a crime they'd be the first to.

Paine stepped inside the apartment as the two returned from their short shopping trip. Vivina needed to pick up a few more sexy outfits for her new job. She didn't like having to dress this way, but what did she care? The only person who would have disapproved of her going out that way wasn't here... Paine sat down on her couch, flipped on the TV and lit up a cigarette as she watched her friend look over her new outfits.

"How good_ is_ the pay?" she asked picking up one of the price tags. _72 gil. _Vivina smirked.

"Not good enough for me to be spending this kind of money, but these'll last me for at least a year." she said carrying them off to her bedroom. Paine continued to watch the depressing news channel while she waited for her friend to get ready. She didn't mind giving her a ride to work every night. She usually ended up hanging out at the bar for a while anyway when she went.

Vivina's cell phone, sitting on the coffee table not far from Paine began to ring its generic ringtone.

"Could you get that!?" she called from the bathroom.

Paine picked up the small phone and flipped it open. "Vivina's phone, who's speaking?"

"This..this is Tifa. The owner of Seventh Heaven..." her voice broke and Paine heard the bartender sobbing.

"What's going on?" her brows knitted together in concern.

With a deep breath Tifa composed herself. "Tell Vivina there's no need to come in tonight. The bar was burned down this afternoon."

Paine's eyes widened. "What!? Who did this?"

"I.. I don't know. I can't really talk now, but please let her know not to come."

Paine sighed loudly. "I will. Thanks for calling."

Tifa hung up without another word. Vivina had never been her best friend, but she certainly never considered her an enemy. She didn't want to place the blame on her, she knew that life must be hard enough for her right now without everyone else pointing fingers. But her bar... Everything she had worked for was gone!

Paine sat the phone down and walked slowly towards the back door. She knocked softly before entering. Vivina covered her bare chest with her arms and turned around. "Who was it?" she asked in panic at seeing the uneasiness in Paine's features.

"You won't need to go into work tonight, Viv..." she said barely able to look her friend in the face knowing the news would crush her already weak state.

"Why?" Vivina moved to grab a black T-shirt to cover herself with.

"Someone burned the place down."

Vivina felt like she could vomit. Immediately she realized that it must have been her fault. Someone did this because of _her_. And worst of all the person who was hurt the most by this was Tifa. She couldn't imagine having to face Tifa right now, but she knew it was the right thing to do. She had to apologize. She still had a couple hundred dollars left from her earnings there, she'd give it all back.

"Viv..." Paine started as she tried to gently touch her shoulder.

"No... Paine this is my fault! I have to get to Tifa. Could you please take me by her place?" She fought back the tears. Crying wouldn't help rebuild Tifa's bar. Paine agreed with a single nod and the two were out the door in seconds.

/\

\/

Vincent watched as Vivina knocked and knocked and knocked for a good while, but no one came to the door. Her friend with the silver car tried to persuade her to get back in the car, but Vivina insisted on staying there. She'd sit on the front porch until she came out or came back. Not willing to argue any further, Paine left her there.

And then the tears came. The tears that could squeeze his heart in such a painful grip he almost ran over there to make them stop. But he knew he couldn't do that... But he could watch over her and could _share_ her pain in this way. Suddenly she took off walking, he followed a good distance behind noticing the direction she was taking. She was on the way to the string of bars downtown. It was only a little after eight o'clock in the evening, a bit early to start drinking. Vivina didn't care. She needed to numb this pain, and do it now. She pushed away her memories from the night that set off this whole nightmare and downed the first shot. The first one was the hardest to force down, but the rest were nothing. When the bartender refused to give her anymore free drinks due to her heavy (fake) flirting. She found other easy targets and before it was even eleven at night she was numb alright.

She stumbled outside and into a taxi demanding a ride to the cemetery. The taxi driver almost looked frightened by her and sped the whole way not even bothering to ask her for the tab. Vivina crawled out of the taxi and made it to his grave before passing out.

This put him in a bit of a predicament. He couldn't leave her here like this. Nights were getting colder and they were calling for rain tonight. She'd get pneumonia if he left her. He knew she was drunk out of her mind and even if she was awake she probably wouldn't remember anything that happened. He saw her move slightly and heard a choking noise. That was all it took. He darted over to her in less than a millisecond and pulled her away from her lover's grave knowing that she wouldn't want to disgrace him by vomiting on it. He got her a good few feet away before it started pouring out of her like a waterfall. He kept her hair away from her face until she was finished.

Even now, to him she was entirely too perfect. He felt his body shudder and had to let go off her and put his bare hand to his temple as he tried to control himself. She moaned and rolled onto her back reaching out for her unknown savior. Vincent took a deep breath and reached his hand out to hers. The feeling of her fingertips against his was almost too much. He cringed and pulled away. She groaned again and forced herself into a sitting position squinting her eyes in the darkness trying to see who, or if anyone was there. She then looked towards the grave. "Squall..." she sniffed and the tears fell again. "Squall, please help me... I can't, I can't do this anymore." she covered her face and wept loudly into her hands. The rain then began to fall.

Vincent pulled off his trench coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. He made up his mind. He was taking her back home. He could run with her in his arms and have her there in less than a minute. Vivina snuggled herself deep inside the heavy leather as she continued to cry. She didn't even seem to notice she was being lifted into the air and then flying at over a hundred miles per hour down the street and up to the door of her apartment. He laid her down on the ground while he used his pick to unlock the door. He lifted her again, kicking the door shut behind him and carried her through the small apartment to her bedroom. He pulled his coat off of her and replaced it warmth with the blankets from her bed. Just as he was about to turn away, she grabbed his arm in a tight hold. His head snapped around quickly and met her half lidded eyes.

"Don't leave me..."

He didn't understand. What he did know was that if he stayed here one more minute he'd lose control and she'd be at the mercy of his demon. He tried to pull his arm away from her, but she broke out into tears again.

"I don't want to be alone tonight... don't go." she whispered through her tears, though consciousness was escaping her again. He dropped to his knees by her bed and buried his face into the sheets of her bed, unable to look her in the face. He slipped his long fingers through her smooth shorter ones and held on tight. He wanted to die. If death was an option for him, right now would be the best time. He wanted her too bad. This was too much. He couldn't understand her words so he didn't know what she was saying. To make sure life as a demon was even more unbearable, his enemy also performed a brain surgery on him that removed every bit of learned language skills from his mind. Though over the past three decades, observing humans had helped him learn a few words. He was still far beyond understanding verbal, written, and even some body language. He knew what her name sounded like. _Vivina_. Watching her, he'd heard many people refer to her that way. He still had his ID card so he knew what his name _looked_ like, but he didn't know what it sounded like. He had learned how to write it, but that was all.

Her breathing evened out and her drunken light snoring was evidence enough for him that she was out for the night. He gently pried her hand off of his, but held onto it for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and let his lips touch the soft skin on the back of her hand. That action struck a match and lit a fire throughout his whole body. He let out a shaky sigh and held the back of her hand up to his forehead. What he wouldn't give to just crawl up beside her and sleep here with her. The darkness under his eyes could tell anyone that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while. Or since he first saw her. He could've almost smirked at the irony. The first place he'd seen her was the same place they'd meet again and he'd get his first change to touch her. He let his thumb slide over the soft skin on the back of her hand before bringing it to his lips again. He savored the taste and vowed to never forget it even if the was the last time he was ever this close to her. His body shuddered again and he knew it was time for him to leave. He laid her hand down and stood up staring down at her. His heart was beating too quickly and the fever was starting. His control was slipping away quickly, but he contained it just for a few more moments.

/\

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She opened her eyes and it felt like a sledgehammer had slammed down and crushed her head into a pile of aching mush. She knew she must have cried herself to sleep from the congested nose and puffy eyes. She tried to remember just what had happened last night, but the events weren't adding up correctly. How did she get home?

Officer Preston must have found her somewhere. Maybe she had gotten arrested for being drunk in public and he'd gotten her off again... She was in too much pain to care. If he wanted to keep his job he'd stay away from her. She now considered herself a danger to society. She wondered why they didn't just burn down her apartment. Probably because it may have resulted in the death of all her neighbors. Tifa's bar was closed in the early afternoon, so no one was there. No one was hurt.

_Why do I smell like leather?_ She sniffed her shirt and tried really hard to remember the last few puzzle pieces of the night that led up to her being brought home and evidently laid down in her bed. An image from the graveyard popped into her head, but it was only of her alone crying to Squall. Her head hurt too much to continue thinking, but just as she was about to give up his face appeared in her mind. Leather... the trench coat... _he _had brought her home! Her eyes welled up as the pieces began to fill up. She remembered the comfort his presence gave her and how she didn't want him to leave, but couldn't stay conscious enough to make him stay. So maybe his intentions weren't to kill her. Maybe he wasn't just a sick creep with amazing talent. Though a few options were out, she still didn't have her answer. Why?


	6. Unwanted Help

(Chapter 6)

**Unwanted Help**

The weeks that followed the moment of close contact were hard for him. He continued to watch her everyday with even more of a burning desire to be nearer to her. But he knew he couldn't. He promised himself even if he ever saw her in danger again, he wouldn't touch her.

Someone else seemed to be even more determined to get nearer as well. Vincent watched from the roof of a nearby building as Vivina and Officer Preston sat together on a park bench. It didn't bother him though. He could feel her tension and could see the wall she was putting up all the way from where he silently stood. Three decades and the wound in his heart still hadn't been fully repaired. With only two months passed since her lover's death he knew hers must still be gashed wide open.

"You plan on sliding down that chimney, Santa?" a familiar voice followed by a snicker sounded behind him. He hid further behind the tall chimney on the roof he stood by, not that he was close enough for Vivina or Baralai to pick out anyway. He turned to the sound of the voice and was shocked to see his old 'friend' Reno standing there looking as if he hadn't aged anymore than Vincent himself had in the past thirty years.

"Still got another four and a half months until Christmas." He grinned and threw his head back letting a roll of 'ho ho ho's out. Vincent wasn't amused in the slightest. He wouldn't have been even if he _did_ understand Reno's joking.

He sighed, taking a step forward and slapped his old friend on the shoulder. "Haven't changed a bit, I see." His face then got uncharacteristically serious. "Life's probably been real hard on you..."

Vincent swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak for the first time in a long time, but he couldn't find the words. No matter how hard he tried to remember the language he'd spoken all his life, he couldn't. Reno didn't jump to conclusions yet. Vincent had always been a silent person and his comment hadn't exactly demanded a response.

"What have you been doin', man?" he asked looking his friend over. He was surprised he could even recognize him under all that hair, the bandana he was sporting, and the long black trench coat. Quite different from the short hair and blue suit he used to sport.

Vincent met eyes with Reno and it was then Reno got it. The look of complete confusion and misunderstanding wasn't unfamiliar to him and Vincent wasn't the only one that had been affected at that time.

"Shit! You too! He got Elena and Rude too. We tried to save you from... well..." he paused frustrated. What he wanted him to know was that they _were_ there and they tried to save him. The four of them had always been a team. They were assigned to the Jenova Project as a team, and as far as any of them were concerned they'd die a team. In their cases they all became immortal monsters as a team. Instead of trying to tell him, he showed him.

He looked up at his friend and suddenly his green eyes burned a dark red. His jaw extended beyond a normal human ability, and the huge fangs slid down over his lips. Vincent's eyes widened and before he could gasp, Reno's face returned to normal.

/\

\/

Reno had slipped into normal human life by doing random part time jobs for a short amount of time before moving on to other things. Most of his income came through his conning abilities. Becoming a monster enhanced a person's normal talents a hundred percent. Being already a persuasive liar to begin with, Reno's talent as a con artist was unmatched by anyone. Seeing that his poor friend wasn't doing as well financially, he forced him to move into his house that he currently shared with his new girlfriend Yuffie.

Vincent didn't like it there, it was too far from _her_. So he spent most of his time away.

"Apple. Orange. Banana." Yuffie over annunciated for him pointing to the three fruits on the table in front of him. His missing language skills bugged the hell out of her! And if it was the last thing she did, at least while she was living here, it was to teach that man to speak! "Now you say it." she said pointing to her lips and then at him.

He let out an exasperated sigh, but complied knowing the consequences if he didn't. He picked up the banana. "Banana." he said slowly. Then he pointed to the orange. "Orange." then he picked up the apple and took a bite out of it. After properly chewing he spoke the third word. "Apple."

"Yay!" Yuffie clapped loudly and turned around to try and find more food in their sparse kitchen. "Ok ok! Come here!" She pulled his right arm as she dragged him into the living room. "Sofa." she said slowly running her hand over one of the soft cushions. "I sit down on the sofa." she sat down slowly. Vincent followed suit but didn't say anything. He looked at the clock knowing that when it pointed at the nine Reno would be walking through the door. It was almost there, he'd only have to humor his friend's childish girlfriend for a few more minutes before he could go check up on _her._

"Remote." she said holding the TV remote in her hands. "Power on." she shoved the device in his face so he could clearly see the button she was pointing to as she pushed it. She annoyed him so, but he appreciated her efforts. He was actually learning alot from her. He knew her name was Yuffie and he could say it. He could call Reno by his name, and he now could pronounce his own name. If it were at all possible, he could approach her now. At the very least he would be able to introduce himself.

Reno came through the door and Vincent couldn't help the sigh of relief the slipped through his lips. Reno knew that sigh.

"Yuffs, have you been buggin' Vince all day again?" he said with a smirk that showed he didn't really disapprove. She hopped off the couch and attacked him with a hug. He held his petite much younger girlfriend for a moment. Though his relationships usually didn't last long due to his infidelities, he tried to pick them much younger that way if they did happen to stretch out over a few years they wouldn't out grow him. His physical age was 23, a little younger than Vincent's 27. Yuffie was a mere 16.

"I'm...going." Vincent said slowly. They taught him this phrase so that he could let them know when he was leaving. Instead of just disappearing into thin air leaving them to wonder if he even planned on returning.

"Vince, wait! Do you have a girl...friend?" Yuffie asked slowly as she pulled out of Reno's hug. Reno elbowed her and showed her a disapproving glare. He knew that question would make probably him uncomfortable. He was well aware that Lucrecia had died years ago and wasn't so sure whether Vincent was completely over it yet or not. Yuffie did teach him the word girlfriend along with the words: kiss, sex, penis, and vagina along with all of their derogatory terms.

Vincent did his best to try and put together a sentence. They might as well know about his miserable one-sided obsession with Vivina. "Girl... yes. Girlfriend...no." He turned his back and walked through the door before either of them could say anything about it.

Reno just grinned. He looked down at his young girlfriend. "Hey, I'm gonna go spy, ok."

"Aww... I wanna come! I promise I'll be real quiet!" she begged, clasping her hands together in prayer form.

"Shh! You're already too loud, no."

/\

\/

She honestly hadn't given Officer Preston enough credit in the beginning. He really, truly was a genuinely caring person. She didn't know what he saw in her... She looked down at the cash in her hands that he had just given her before leaving. It was exactly enough to pay her rent this month. As warm as he made her feel, it wasn't the kind of bubbly romantic love that she had felt with Squall. It was the same kind of warmth she felt from her friendship with Paine. Friendship... She knew that was all this could become, but she wondered if he knew that and if he didn't realize, how would she tell him? That was beyond her worries at this point. She stuffed the money away in her underwear drawer and grabbed a jacket.

She'd been walking frequently on her own, hoping maybe one day he'd approach her. She knew he was watching she could feel him. He sent her more pictures. Through all of this all she could think about was that drunken night when he was _there._ Her walks usually took her by the graveyard. Tonight she went all the way to the bridge. She climbed up on the wall and sat down. She stared down into the black water. She wondered if he was watching now... If she jumped would he save her? She wasn't exactly brave enough for that one. What if he tried to save her and died too? That would be another life she carelessly claimed.

Vincent indeed watched her, but he stood in the muddy grasslands underneath the bridge, next to the river. He didn't wear a hat tonight, he forgot it in his hurry to get away from the happy, slightly annoying couple he lived with now. Though it was nice to be around people like that again, he was truly a loner and preferred to be alone.

Reno snickered. The moon was bright tonight and he could see that look in his friends eyes from where he stood on the other side of the river behind a tree. He looked up at the object of Vincent's affection. She was hot. He'd give her that. _Wait! That's Vivina Viera! The girl who killed her boyfriend and best friend in a drunk driving accident! What the hell, Vincent... You sure do know how to pick them. First a mad scientist's wife, now this... _He shook his head. Another talent he gained was teleporting. Though he could only do it within short distances. He was beside Vincent in the blink of an eye. Vincent didn't even jump or take his eyes off of her.

"Talk to her." Reno whispered to him.

Vincent sighed. "No..." his face twisted in pain as he turned away from her and began to walk away. Reno shook his head. Vincent glanced behind him to see if Reno was following, and gasped. Reno teleported himself up on the bridge and was standing a few feet behind her. She hadn't heard a sound and didn't turn around.

Vincent took off at lightning speed and didn't stop until he'd reached his new home. He rushed passed Yuffie ignoring a question that he couldn't understand anyway and locked himself into his new room ready to drown in the despair he knew Reno was about to bring upon him.

/\

\/

Reno cleared his throat before taking a seat beside her on the wall. Vivina gasped and lost her balance. His quick reflexes and impossible strength grabbed her arm and yanked her back before she could even anticipate the fall.

"Wow...thanks... I guess. Who are you?" she asked staring up at the unfamiliar red head. His interesting hair style had her wondering....

"Reno." he said smiling at her and extending his hand to her. She shook it lightly. "I know who you are. And don't worry, I'm not here to judge. I have a friend who seems to be pretty smitten with you so I thought I'd sniff you out." he leaned over close to her and took a whiff jokingly. She couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested. If you know me and my situation, then you know I'm obviously not dating material right now." she looked back down in the black water as the memories suddenly came rushing forward.

"I see..." he said letting the quiet set in for a while. Only the sound of the river rushing south could be heard. There was not even a car in sight. Not even Officer Preston was making his rounds to try and catch her out walking like he usually did. They'd sat on this very wall just a few days ago.

His phone rang loudly and he answered it with a sigh, knowing it was just Yuffie.

"Where are you?" she asked in a sing song tone.

"I'll be home in a few. Is Vince there?"

"Yeah, he looked really peeved though. What did you guys do?" she was already laying in bed with the TV on mute. The room brightened and darkened according to the scene changes.

"I found the girl." he said elbowing Vivina playfully. "And I'm talking to her for him right now." he laughed evilly. "But I'll be there in a few, babe. Don't fall asleep without me." he still hadn't gotten his treat for the day. He hung up the phone and turned to Vivina.

She put on a fake smile. "You should probably be going..."

"Yeah... look, my friend he... I don't want to put his business out there like this, but I'm doing it for his benefit damnit." he laughed. "His first love died a while back and even though I haven't seen him in forever I can still tell that its hurting him. But I when I caught him watching you today, I noticed something different in his eyes. Something I'd _never _seen before... he"

Vivina stopped him. "_Watching_ me? Your friend... he's the one who... tall, long black hair, pale skin...?" she quit her rambling and looked up at him for answers.

"Yeah! So you two've met already?" he looked down at his phone as it lit up with a text message letting him know in ten minutes she was falling asleep and he'd be getting none of her treats tonight.

"Not exactly." she could see the text too and didn't want to keep him from his night of passionate love making so she quickly pulled out her cell phone. "Just give him my number. I'd really like to talk to him."

"He...can't. Look I've said too much, he's already mad at me right now for even talking to you in the first place. I... I've gotta run. Just... know that if he ever does approach you, it's gonna be hard for him. Please give him a chance." He took off running at a normal human speed at first then as soon as he was sure he was out of her view he used his teleporting skills to get him home quickly.

Sure enough, Yuffie was already asleep. He teleported into Vincent's room to find it empty. _You stubborn prick..._

/\

\/

He didn't know why it made him so angry that Reno had spoken with her. Maybe it was because he didn't want it to happen that way. He didn't want her to know him, though the torture of looking without touching was driving him insane, he knew it _couldn't_ be any different. He looked down at his left appendage and down at his scarred chest. He put his shirt back on along with his oversized coat that hid his left arm. He took them off ahead of time knowing that a transformation was near. Blood from an unsuspecting victim stained the grass around him, but there were no remains insight. Vincent didn't even want to think about what the demon may have done with the body...

It was time for him to find a new home.


	7. Phone Call

(Chapter 7)

**Phone Call**

Reno was sure his friend was bluffing, but after two months and no sight of him, he realized how serious he was. He kind of understood now after thinking it over. He himself had almost hurt Yuffie several times getting overly excited during their intimate moments. Any type of excitement or extreme anger could trigger a transformation. Yuffie had even seen his face change. She watched his eyes burn that dark color and saw him try to cover his mouth as the fangs slipped out. But with his enhanced persuasive abilities. He was literally able to convince her that she had seen nothing.

He tried to catch Vincent by being near his woman, but every time he seen Vivina she was with the police officer. Reno had never been fond of cops... It frustrated him how Vincent could just stand by and let this donut eater take the woman he was obviously enamored with right out from under his nose. Reno would never be able to understand that. Especially when time was ticking. Unlike them, she was getting older every day. If he wanted her he should be getting at her right now while she was still physically younger than him!

/\

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Vivina smiled and tossed her long hair back. "Thanks for the dinner." Baralai was still grinning. He'd been holding out for a long time watching and waiting until he thought she was ready for this question. Almost five months had passed since the accident... To him that was enough time.

"Vivina... you know, here lately we've been spending alot of time together and... I..I really _enjoy_ spending time with you... and..I was wondering maybe... you know since..." he was looking down at the tip of his shoe as he scuffed it lightly on the concrete.

Vivina's heart stopped and it was like his lips were moving in slow motion. His voice sounded deep and slowed in her ears as the rambling continued. _No...no no! _"No!"

His head shot up and he locked eyes with her. She couldn't stand the hurt that reflected in his face. She quickly brought her hands to her mouth as if to grab that 'no' and shove it back down her throat. "I...I mean..."

Baralai watched as her skin became a shade paler. He should have known it was still too early. He brought a fist to his forehead and sighed heavily. Embarrassed greatly. "I'm sorry. That was... I know you're probably not ready for that."

Vivina sighed and nervously put her hair behind her ears. "Officer Preston." she said even though he'd told her millions of times to just call him Preston or Baralai even. That made him smirk. She sighed again but this time with a smile feeling the awkward tension fade. "I'm enjoying myself too, but... for now if we could just keep it this way... I just have too much baggage right now. Plus it's not making you look very good hanging around me." she glanced up at him wondering what his reaction to that would be.

He took a step closer to her. "You know I don't care about that." he said quickly, not giving her any room to doubt that statement.

"Thanks." she muttered. She almost added the fact that she had an obsessive stalker watching her and if he was as truly smitten with her as his friend Reno said, he might be willing to hurt whoever dared get closer to her.

Vincent was watching and it did bother him, but he wouldn't hurt the officer. Deep down he knew he didn't have a reason to. In fact he had two reasons not to. First was the obvious. He knew he couldn't be with Vivina the way that the officer could. He could never offer her the kind of life that the officer would be able to. And If he was making Vivina happy, that was fine with him. But the second reason was because he could read people very well and could already tell that Vivina had no intentions of advancing romantically with the officer if she could help it at all. Whether it was beneficial to her or not, she didn't care. Every time they were together, Vincent could pick up the sense that she indeed had her walls built up tall and very sturdy.

This was the second time in a row that he felt like _he_ himself was being watched. He peered back into the trees behind him and caught the end of a fiery red ponytail sticking out behind one of them. He sighed heavily and turned away from Vivina and the officer. He walked up to the suspicious tree and cleared his throat.

Reno jumped and then revealed himself sheepishly. "Hey...buddy." he said keeping his voice down. They were probably only about ten meters away from the apartments. Vincent glared darkly over the high collar of his coat. Reno gave up the act and got right in his face. "How are you going to let that happen?" he pointed to Vivina and the officer. She was just about to turn around and enter her apartment and he was moving away towards his vehicle.

Vincent only glared.

"Do you love her?" Reno drew a heart in the air with his fingers trying to get his friend to understand. Vincent's face softened but he didn't respond.

"She _wants_ to talk to you." he got out his cell phone and pointed to Vivina and to the phone and then shoved his finger into Vincent's chest as he explained. Vincent turned to catch her closing the door. He looked back at Reno through narrowed eyes not sure what he was trying to tell him.

Reno sighed loudly and pulled at his hair. Then his face lit up as he thought of a plan. It made him feel kind of squirmish doing so, but he grabbed Vincent's right hand and teleported with him several times until they were back at the house. When they arrived Vincent snatched his hand out of Reno's and glared at him again.

"Yeah yeah... It wasn't even like that..." Reno said as they walked inside. He instantly went to the computer ready to set up a phone plan and order a cell phone for Vincent. He'd find Vivina again and get her number like she'd offered the first time and Vincent _would_ talk to her. As much as he could. "YUFFIE!!" he practically screamed.

She came running into the front room almost like there as a fire. "What?! Oh! Hi Vincent!"

Vincent nodded at her in response.

"Lesson time. I'm about to get him a phone he's gonna kinda need to up his conversational skills like ten notches." Reno didn't take his eyes off the computer as he filled out all of Vincent's personal information. Vincent winced as Yuffie grabbed his left arm. Through the heavy leather, she could still tell something was off about it. As outgoing as she may seem, Vincent was still a very intimidating person and she dared not ask any questions. He followed her into the kitchen and sat down on the stool in front of their small bar. She politely got him a glass of water and he gave her a nod of thanks as he took it.

"So Vince, how are you?" she still spoke very slowly for him. "Like... what have you been doing?"

He looked at her, confused.

"Are you...happy?" she smiled really big. "Sad." she frowned. She went through just about every emotion possible showing the equal facial expressions. Vincent finally caught on, though still didn't know how to describe the mood he was in...

/\

\/

It was raining today, which was no surprise to Vivina. It must have rained nearly seventy-five percent of the time here in Midgar. She decided to stay in today though she had been invited out by Paine, Officer Preston, and her sister Lulu offered to come down. She heard a knock at her door and expected one of the three of these possibilities. However she pulled open the door to see Reno standing there. He smiled.

"Hey, enjoying the weather?"

"Right..." she laughed softly. "What brings you back around?"

"Well I finally ran into my friend again, and I was thinking about what you said. That you'd like to talk to him." he paused.

She nodded quickly. "Yes, yeah I would actually, but I remember you saying he... _couldn't."_

"Yeah! Because you see at the time he didn't have a phone. But when we met up about a week ago I finally got him to sign up for a cell phone plan." he said with a laugh. He leaned up against her doorframe as he pulled out his cell phone ready to take down her number.

Vivina's heart raced as she imagined being able to actually _talk_ to the person who has been watching her now for almost five months. She couldn't wait to ask him why. She gave Reno her number and he quickly saved it to his phone.

"Is he nice?" she asked awkwardly. He laughed out loud.

"Umm...he always _means_ well. He comes off kind of cold, but I don't think that's his intention. He's one of those... socially...challenged, I guess you'd call it." he said laughing. Vivina noticed that his friend seem humorous enough.

"Oh I see." she smiled as she put her phone away. She twirled her hair nervously as she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Well, I'm gonna run home and force him to call you. Hopefully this all works out and I'll see you again sometime." he left, shutting her door for her and was home within seconds.

Vincent and Yuffie sat on the couch together. Yuffie was still trying to explain to him how to use the phone. He'd been back here for a week now and was surprised at how easy it was to get used to her. The first time he'd stayed here, he thought the mere sound of her high pitch voice was going to drive him out, but neither that nor her extreme excitability bothered him anymore. It was actually refreshing being around someone who enjoyed life as much as Yuffie did. Plus, he couldn't thank her enough for her efforts in teaching him language again.

Reno came through the door with a grin on his face. "Call her now!" he felt like an excited teenage boy again.

Vincent swallowed hard. Would it really be the right thing to do? He needed to keep his distance. But she _did_ know about him and she _wanted_ to talk to him. He could at least grant her that much. It was decided then. Talking on the phone, as much as he could, would be as far as he'd take it. He stood up and walked back to the room they'd given him.

Both Yuffie and Reno groaned. "Aww come on!!" Yuffie complained. Vincent ignored her. And if he did gather up the courage to call her. He'd do it alone.

/\

\/

Vivina didn't receive a call that night. Part of her didn't expect it, but she really _really_ wanted her answers. The next day passed and though she kept her phone next to her at all times, the only calls she got were from Paine and Officer Preston. She kept declining all offers to go out. Paine thought it was her getting depressed again and Officer Preston saw it as her way of dismissing him. But neither was the case. She wanted to be home alone when she received his call.

And finally it came.

Her heart raced as she saw the unknown phone number pop up on her screen. She swallowed hard trying to compose herself so she wouldn't sound like a scared idiot on the phone when she answered. She flipped open her phone with an unsteady hand and paused for a moment.

"Hello?" her voice cracked slightly.

Vincent couldn't believe he'd actually gone through with it. A new emotion rushed through his body. It felt so good to hear her voice like that and to understand the word.

"Hello?" she said again, her voice was more controlled this time. "Please... I want to talk to you."

Vincent squeezed his eyes shut, suddenly feeling nervous. She must have questions. Questions that he hoped he could understand and answer. "Vivina...?" he said quietly.

His deep, soothing tone was not at all what she expected, but she couldn't say it was a bad thing. And the way he said her name was so natural, as if he knew her already.

"Yes, it's me." she answered with a smile in her voice. She sat down on her bed and laid back feeling more relaxed than ever.

His first instinct was to fight it off, but he was alone with no one was watching so it was ok. He let the small smile light up his usually stone features.

"I got all your pictures...I mean, the drawings. They're all really amazing." she couldn't understand why she felt so giddy. Like it was her first conversation with a boy on the phone ever. "But why me?"

"Why?" Vincent repeated slowly. He thought for a moment. "I..I don't know." She shuddered at the sound of his voice, hearing it for the second time only.

"I'm not really special. Nothing to be honored this way, that's for sure." she said with a snort of sarcastic laughter.

He panicked at not understanding what she meant and stayed silent. She could still hear him breathe, though. She remembered what Reno said about him being socially challenged so didn't take his silence personally.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Vincent." he answered. It felt good for once knowing who he was. He took off his shoes and coat and laid back on his bed as well. Her voice comforted him as well. He didn't want to ever get off the phone even if it was just listening to her breathe.

"Vincent." she repeated and it made him smile again. It felt so foreign for him to smile, he almost didn't like how it was happening so involuntarily. "Do you know... well you've probably heard about what I did."

He stayed quiet. He was surprised that she would bring that up. He wasn't good with words of sympathy even when he was an expert at language. "Y..yes."

"Don't you...think I'm a bad person? I don't understand why you've chosen _me _to watch." she closed her eyes ready to hear his voice again. She pretended he was there again sitting beside her bed holding her hand in his.

"You're not bad...I...think." He winced, not sure if he had pieced that together very well.

Vivina laughed softly. "Thank you, Vincent."

Why couldn't he stop smiling?! It was almost as if in that moment he was... happy. He grimaced knowing that this feeling right now would only lead to depression later when he hung up and realized that he would never get any closer to her. She'd hang up the phone with him and go spend her time with the officer.

"Vivina? I'm...I'll call you...again?" His emotions were about ready to push his tiny bit of language skills out the window. He could barely think straight as it was. He just needed to get off this phone... Her voice, mixed with the memories of that night he'd brought her home were becoming too much.

"Oh...ok. Sure you can call me again, anytime." she smiled, though she realized that still even though she had just spoken with the man himself, she didn't have her answers.

"Goodbye." he hung up abruptly and dropped his phone on the floor, groaning in agony.

Vivina stared at her phone in confusion, but set it aside and smiled into her pillow feeling relieved. So she didn't have her answers now, but he'd call her again she hoped. And if he did she would get him to meet her somewhere. _This_ was definitely a different kind of feeling that she was having than what she felt when she anticipating seeing or hearing from Officer Preston. She just hoped he didn't turn on her and make her life an even more hell once he found out that this wasn't going to go beyond friendship.


	8. Growing Suspicion

(Chapter 8)

**Growing Suspicion **

Vincent spent the next week locked away in the bedroom his friend gave him. Every now and then Reno would intrude with his teleporting ability carrying food. Yuffie would come over and bang on the door demanding he come out for his language lessons, but neither of them could reach him. The mere thought of her had grown so intense it had him paralyzed. His cell phone, now dead, still lay on the floor by his bed where it had slipped from his hand. Should it be alive, it would be bursting with texts and calls from both Yuffie and Reno trying to convince him to come out again. He didn't see the point.

Vivina, though she'd rather be doing the same, had been out steadily with the officer. He did indeed back off of the relationship talk and merely served as a time killer for her. He took her ice skating, mini golfing, skiing, and even managed to talk her into hiking. She had a hard time not having fun with him, but felt guilty for all that he was doing for her because there was nothing she could do for him. Through all of their escapades, her cell phone never left her back pocket even though she had yet to receive a second phone call.

/\

\/

"No..no! Here's a better idea." Yuffie leaned across the small bar at her boyfriend. Both of them were staring intensely at each other. They were now at the climax of their debate on what to do about the brooding man down the hall. "We pretend to break up and then you can go in there totally upset, cry if you can, then convince him to drink with you because you don't want to drink alone. _Then_ when he's on the brink of total wastedness, invite Vivina over. He'll be too drunk to run away." She clapped loudly for her brilliant idea and giggled while Reno stroked his chin in thought. His eyes then lit up.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you." he gave her a loud high five before dashing off into the living room. "I'm gonna go get supplies. When I come back through the door be ready to let me have it."

Yuffie gave a light purr. "Oh I'll let you have it alright. Oh! And then after we can have crazy pretend make up sex!"

Reno gave her a playful growl in return before taking off out the door.

Vincent's eyes snapped open as the house shook with the loud bang of the front door slamming. He heard Yuffie's voice louder than he'd ever heard it before and Reno roar in response. He actually sounded angry and Vincent never knew Reno to get seriously angry about anything. The words they exchanged came out too quickly for him to pick up. Knowing that Reno was like him, he wondered if he should intervene. Should he become too furious he may hurt Yuffie. Just as he managed to drag his unmotivated body out of the bed. Reno appeared in his room looking completely distraught.

"It's over, man. She's really gonna leave this time..." he paced back and forth in a very convincing act of nervousness. "I shouldn't have yelled at her like that." he stopped pacing and turn to Vincent pointing his finger into his own chest. "_I_ was at fault. Like always it was me. Fuck me, I'm such a failure." He dropped to his knees and buried his face into his hands. He made a few sob noises before turning away from Vincent and wiping a few nonexistent tears. Vincent looked away not wanting to see his friend cry. He, like Paine, had always been a little weary of tears. He was never one to cry so he didn't really know how to react when he saw other people doing so.

Reno pretended to compose himself before turning to his slightly confused friend. "I need a drink. Will you come into the kitchen and just humor me for a while, I really need it man." He made hand movements to describe the actions he said just in case Vincent didn't understand. He gave a single nod and followed Reno into the kitchen.

/\

\/

Yuffie drove Reno's car to the apartments he had described for her. She was dedicated to Reno, and as far as Vincent, he seemed like a pretty decent guy and deserved better. But she was more into reactions than anything. Her main motivation in putting this all together was to see how it all panned out. She skipped up to the door and gave a few loud bangs.

Vivina instantly got nervous. So far every time she received a random unannounced visitor it usually had to do with her admirer. She had just gotten home from dinner with Officer Preston and was just about to wine down and get ready for bed. She opened the door and came face to face with a young girl that stood almost exactly the same height she did. Though Vivina had her by an inch. Her first thought was girl scout cookies, but then she wondered why her parents were letting her out this late.

"Wow! You're really pretty! No wonder he's so crazy about you." Yuffie took a few steps closer looking Vivina dead in her eyes.

Her heart dropped. _What did this little girl have to do with Vincent? His daughter?_

Yuffie noticed she seemed shocked so she continued. "Reno made me come over here. He's throwing a little party back at the house and wanted to know if you'd come. Vincent's like having his first drink in years so things might get a little wild!" she grinned her irresistibly persuasive grin.

Vivina tilted her head to the side. "How...do you know him?"

Yuffie shivered and before she could open her mouth to explain, Vivina gently took her wrist and pulled her into the apartment shutting the door behind her. Not to mention she had the heat turned up and really didn't want it all to be wasted running out the door.

"I'm Reno's girlfriend. I kinda live with him most of the time and Vincent lives there too." she answered cheerfully. She took a glance around Vivina's simple apartment.

Vivina's eyebrows raised significantly. "Girlfriend? How old are you?"

"I'll be seventeen this month, next week actually on the 20th." Vivina wished she could be as happy as this young girl was. She was the type that didn't even have to move her lips, her eyes smiled brightly enough. Seventeen was very young for Reno, but at first glance she didn't even think that this girl was fifteen yet.

"So...you live with...Vincent?" Vivina asked slowly glancing into her eyes. Yuffie's smile changed and her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah...why? Do you like him too?" she giggled softly. Vivina shook her head no quickly. Not responding to the answer, but at the fact that she was standing in her living room having a high school conversation with a seventeen year old.

"Uh...I don't really know him, but sure I'll go. Did you drive here? I'll need a ride."

Yuffie jingled her keys in front of Vivina's face and she caught the glimpse of a very expensive car logo on the key. Reno really seemed to be having it going on.

/\

\/

Right away Reno knew he had got in over his head with this plan. He didn't think that Vincent would actually drink to get drunk, but maybe have a few sips to humor him. He especially didn't think he would be passed out already before Vivina even got there. Though Reno had been acting, Vincent honestly did seem to need a drink. After not touching alcohol for years, his tolerance had slipped quite a bit.

"Vincent." Reno shook him and gave him a slap on the cheek. Vincent groaned and laid his head back against the couch. Reno turned around with panic in his eyes as he watched the door open. Yuffie smiled brightly at first, but then cringed when she saw Vincent. She turned apologetically to Vivina as they walked further into the living room.

"I guess the party's over?" she turned back to Reno who was furiously shaking Vincent.

"Uh...hehe... yeah. Hey Vivina! This is him." he pointed to the passed out man. He was still wearing the trench coat, but it was completely unzipped and unbuttoned so it was open all down the front. Vivina's eyes widened.

"Is he...alive?" she took a few steps towards him. Reno's eyes suddenly regained their mischievous twinkle. Yuffie noticed right away. He inched away from Vincent slowly and was to Yuffie's side in a few seconds.

"He's just asleep, but I know he'll wake up for you." Reno said before he and Yuffie bolted.

Vivina knew all along this was meant to be a set up, so she didn't think anything of their sudden split. She sat down beside the sleeping man. He was obviously very warm. His long hair was sticking to his cheeks. She reached up and pulled his hair from his face. He made no response to this. She left his side for a moment and returned with a cold wash cloth she found in their bathroom. He flinched and turned his face away from her as she wiped the sweat off of his face and next.

"Vincent? It's me, Vivina." she said leaning into him. She laughed softly and gave his shoulder a shake. Her laugh faded as the memories flooded in. One of Squall's bad habits was that he spent alot of his time passed out like this as well. And she was there every single time taking care of him.

Then it occurred to her that the first time they had been this close to each other, she was the one completely wasted out of her mind.

"Are we ever going to meet under normal circumstances?" she asked him. She stared at his face for a while not able to deny that he was astonishingly handsome in a unique sense. Not only that, something about him just drew her in. Like that night when he brought her home, she remembered that strong sense of comfort and safety that his presence provided.

Vincent stirred again. Vivina smiled and scooted closer to him as soon as the skin of her arm brushed his bare right hand, he snapped out of his drunken stupor. He looked to his side.

"Hi." She said laughing softly. "Surprise?"

His eyes widened slightly, but that was all the visible reaction he showed. Inside he felt like every single one of his vital organs were going to explode starting with his heart. He yawned and wiped his eyes a few times with his right hand before looking at her again. "Why...?" he let the question trail off.

"Reno and Yuffie." was her simple answer. She figured that if he was living with them he'd probably understand. He sighed heavily and relaxed against the couch again like he planned on falling back asleep.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled softly. He opened his eyes again and looked at her. Had he been sober at the moment he wouldn't have been as calm. He would start with killing Reno and then threatening Yuffie.

Vivina shook her head no. "Don't worry about it." she stood up and held her hand out to him. Vincent lifted his hand surprised at how steady it was and took her soft one. She had a strong grip for such a petite woman. She pulled him to his feet. They both gasped when he lost his footing landing him into her embrace. Her scent hit his nostrils and went straight to his brain. Vivina groaned as his arms suddenly tightened around her. "I...can't breathe..." she gasped.

Vincent's mind was somewhere else. He clung to her as he tried to stay in control.

Vivina gasped again. "Please...let...go." she couldn't even move his grip was so tight. Vincent buried his face into her hair and neck, brushing his lips against her throat. He took another deep breath of her intoxicating scent. His embrace loosen and just as it did, Vivina pushed him away. She took a few deep breaths and held her chest. She was almost sure he was going to crush her rib cage and collapse both of her lungs. Vincent turned away from her and held his hands over his mouth. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. He was uncomfortably sober now.

"What's wrong with you?" She whispered as she took a few steps towards him. Socially challenged?! There had to be more to it than that!

_You are what's wrong with me._ He thought as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He could just kill her now get rid of her existence and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. It wouldn't be able to affect him like this. On that thought his fangs sprouted and his eyes glowed their dark red. _She would taste so good... _His body shuddered as the demon threatened to take over. He knew he couldn't let his demon do that to her. Her existence was the only thing keeping him going these days. Had it not been for her, he would have never ran into Reno. Even though at this point he wondered if that was even a benefit at all...

"Vincent?" she walked to his side only for him to turn away and walk to the door. "Wait!" He opened the door and took off running as fast as he could. As he ran he vowed to himself he'd never get that close to her again. Watching her from afar may drive him to the brink of insanity, but he knew he wouldn't be able to live on if he was responsible for her death as well...

/\

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Vivina walked half way then caught a late night cab home that night. Her suspicions of bad karma began to arise again. There was definitely something suspicious about this man who had been watching her. Her chest still hurt from his bone crushing embrace and she couldn't forget the chill that ran down her spine as he took a whiff of her as if she were dinner.


	9. A Scary Explanation

(Chapter 9)

**A Scary Explanation**

Every time she felt it, a chill ran down her spine. She hurriedly jab her key in the door with unsteady hands. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she felt it growing more and more intense until finally she unlocked the door, ran inside, and closed it securely. _Why is he still watching me?_

She threw her purse down and collapsed on the couch. She'd just come home from hanging out with Paine and a few of her other friend's at the mall of all places. Her house phone was full of messages from her mother, father, and sister warning her about Thanksgiving. They all wanted her to join the family dinner, but Vivina had yet to face the rest of her family. Such as her aunts, uncles and cousins who were all busy judging their so called relative. That night was more than six months ago now, but she knew as soon as they saw her face they'd all remember.

Vivina ventured back outside to grab her mail and hurried back in. She tossed the pile of envelopes on the coffee table and sorted through them. She found another blank one and took a deep breath before opening it. This time it wasn't a drawing, but a letter written in hardly legible chicken scratch.

_Vivina,_

_I'm sorry for last week. I didn't want to... I can't explain how... Please don't become afraid. I will never hurt you because I will never get so close to you again._

_Vincent. _

Vivina reread it just to be sure she understood correctly. But then again, there was nothing to understand because he only left her with more questions. Why didn't he want to be close to her again? What was there for him to explain to her that he couldn't? She sighed loudly and threw the letter aside, too distressed to even glance at the bills she knew the other envelopes contained.

/\

\/

Vincent hung around Reno's place even though he'd already planned on eventually leaving for good. He wanted to get better at language before he moved on. He knew a cure for what he was going through would most definitely be getting a job and keeping himself busy. He made frequent visits to Kalm to seek out available jobs that would suit him. Reno was behind his back shopping around his pieces of artwork to different galleries. He continued to draw Vivina in different settings, but kept all of the drawings to himself. Reno would only chose the ones that didn't show her face directly so that no one that looked at the picture would know it was Vivina Viera.

Yuffie noticed that each day that passed, he got less and less enthusiastic during their lessons. Noting that from the start he only had just an ounce of enthusiasm in him. Today it was to the point that he wasn't even paying her any attention.

"Vincent!" she slapped her hand down on the table. These lessons would always take place at the bar in their kitchen. Yuffie sitting on one side while he sat across from her. He glanced up at her apologetically.

"What's wrong with you? Is it her? I can go get her again if you want me to, you know that." she said watching him as he wrapped his head around her offering. He shook his head no.

"Why not? Can't I invite her to my birthday party tomorrow?" she grinned at him.

"You can, but... I won't go."

She pouted at him even though she already knew that look didn't have any effect on him. Just then Reno came through the door. Vincent turned to him.

"What's up?" Reno asked sitting next to him on a barstool. Vincent just looked at him and then looked back at Yuffie. "Yuffie get lost." Reno said smirking at her. She rolled her eyes and went off to the back room.

"How...can you...be with her...and not..." he paused looking up at Reno to finish for him and then answer the question.

"And not want to bite her, drink all of her blood then let the demon eat her?" he grinned at his own harsh honesty. He leaned towards Vincent and whispered to him. "It's because she's not my type. Her scent doesn't have that effect on me." He then moved away and spoke in a normal voice. "It makes it _alot_ easier."

Vincent nodded slowly seeming to understand. They didn't consider themselves vampires because they didn't have to drink blood. They satisfied their thirst and hungry just like any other human. They slept at night, their skin was still warm, and with the exception of Vincent's lack of sun exposure, they didn't have the ghastly pale skin. The demons that resided within them were the ones craving blood, but not only blood they craved humans in general.

Yuffie slid down the door as she felt her legs give out. _bite her, drink all of her blood..._ Those were the only words she needed to hear. Her suspicions about Reno had been mild. She knew she was born with a wacked out imagination so she tried not to let all the clues get to her head but...

_Reno...my Reno is a vampire..._

/\

\/

Vivina was in her room packing a small bag to take with her to her family's home. Her mother was the one who insisted that she spend some time there. So she would be staying from the Thursday of Thanksgiving until the following Sunday. She couldn't say she was looking forward to it, but at the same time it was better than being alone in this house.

Her cell phone sitting on her dresser across the room began to ring loudly. She sighed assuming it was just her mother calling back to give her more details that she'd forgotten. They had just hung up no more than twenty minutes ago. Her hand stopped short of touching the small object as she read the number that was displayed across the screen. She recognized that to be...Vincent's number. She took a deep breath and answered it.

"Hello?" her voice came out much more smoothly this time.

On the other end, Vincent froze not yet understanding how and why he had decided to go through with this. The past few weeks worth of lessons with Yuffie and his latest conversation with Reno had given him a bit more confidence in his communication abilities so he thought he would be a bit more able to make sense to her. He knew she must be completely confused by him, and he wanted things to be clear.

"Vivina...hi." he spoke softly.

Afraid to be rude to him, she entered the conversation the subtle way. "So, how have you been?"

"Ok. You?" He sat on the floor with his back against the wall next to an outlet that his phone was still plugged into. Yuffie never told him when it was ok to take out the charger.

"Ok... I guess. How's Reno and Yuffie?"

"Good." He paused for a moment and when she didn't say anything else he decided to get right to the point. "I want to explain... the letter. Did you...read it?" He always had to cringe at the sound of his own voice. Going thirty years without speaking a word could be responsible for that.

"Yes." she answered. She sat down on the bed feeling her stomach fill with butterflies. Maybe she would get some answers?

"I'm sorry I scared you. You...and your scent... it's dangerous for me to be near you." He spoke with his eyes closed trying hard to focus on the words he was saying hoping it was making sense to her.

"Why?" she asked catching him off guard. He hadn't prepared a response to 'why.' He paused for a while frowning in thought as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn't cause her more fear.

"Vivina, I..." he massaged the bridge of his nose as he continued to think.

Vivina sighed and spared him the explanation. "What's wrong with my scent?" she asked in a mock hurt tone. She chuckled lightly afterward so that he understood she was joking. Maybe if she made him more comfortable, it would be easier for him to talk to her.

"N..nothing wrong...it's too... right. It's too...good." he said softly in a tone that made her smile.

"Then why don't you want to be near me? Are you afraid you'll be too rough? That you'll hurt me?" Vivina was far from an angel and even further from a virgin. If he was stalking her to get in her pants, she was more than ready to let him have it already and be done with it all.

"I don't want to hurt you." he was surprised at how smoothly that sentence flowed. "I...can see that...you already...that you still... hurt... enough."

Vivina swallowed hard. _Was it still that obvious?_ She wondered. If this stranger could read her that well her family would be able to too. She did _not_ want to spend Thanksgiving with everyone patting her on the back telling her everything was ok. Everything was still _not_ ok; it would _never _be ok and she would forever carry this guilt, this burden on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry." he repeated after a long pause of her silence.

A tear rolled down the side of her face. She could tell in his tone that he truly meant it. He truly cared about _her _and felt her pain. She could see that now, or hear it rather. She wrapped her arms around her pillow and squeezed hard, closing her eyes.

"Vivina?" he asked.

"I'm here." she choked out, pressing her face closer to the phone that was rested on her other pillow.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He realized she was crying and was thankful he didn't have to actually see it. Not that hearing it wasn't just as bad... "Don't... please don't..." he begged her when she sobbed louder. He couldn't take her tears. They were the only thing that could convince him to get close to her. He wanted to be right there by her side wiping them away and making her world ok again. He prayed for the day he could watch her from afar and see that she was happy. Because in turn it would make him just as happy. "Don't, Vivina... when you hurt, I hurt." he said softly.

His words made her smile through her tears. "Vincent... will you come over? I just need someone with me right now, I don't care who."

Vincent sighed heavily knowing he could not say not to her. Especially with her crying to him. "Ok." He hung up the phone and almost against his own will was at her door in less than a minute. He knew it was a bad idea as soon as she opened the door and stood in front before him. She wore only an oversized black T-shirt with a rock band's logo on the front and a pair of black socks along with her undergarments of course.

She seemed to be a bit more composed now as she smiled slightly and waved for him to come in. Vincent obeyed and shut the door behind him, stopping the ice cold air that had Vivina's white legs covered in goose bumps. He looked around her apartment focusing on staying calm. The apartment was full of her scent. He chose not to breathe. She reached out to take his right hand.

He flinched and pulled away. "Uh...sorry." he'd flinched so hard that it startled her as well. Vivina stared up at his face determined to break whatever walls he'd put up for whatever reason. If he was so obsessed with her, why didn't he want to touch her? She could tell already he felt for her deeply, but was he ashamed at the same time?

Vincent shifted under her critical stare. The demon part of his mind began to turn his thoughts into another direction. _So what if I kill her... Life was easier without her..._

"Vincent...I know you've still been watching me." she stepped closer to him. He stepped back. She kept walking until he hit the door. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I just want to know why because you know that you are welcome to come talk to me like this. I don't mind you being near me. I'm _not_ afraid of you." she said closing the distance between them. Though his thick leather coat separated them still. She reached up and unbuttoned the first button of his coat's collar. He was completely frozen focusing on nothing else but staying in control. She unzipped the coat slowly and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his tense muscles through his thin shirt. Though as tense as he was, _she _was at ease. She nuzzled her face into his chest loving every minute of the comfort he unknowingly gave her. She stood on her tip toes, pulled him down by his hair and crushed her warm inviting lips against his cold ones. His control slipped for a moment as he shrugged out of his jacket, flinging his left arm back to remove the sleeve. He rested his claw against her lower back as he pressed them closer together tilting his head as he parted his lips for her. Vivina kissed him harder moaning for him to kiss her back just as hard. He shuddered and broke the kiss as he felt his fangs growing.

He pushed her away with his right hand letting his hand rest on her shoulder for a brief moment before using it to cover his mouth He looked at her seriously. "I'm not... safe." He mumbled behind his covered mouth. Never mind the massive claw that was posing as his left arm. It wasn't that she hadn't noticed it, but that she was trying her hardest not to acknowledge it for his benefit. He bent down and grabbed his trench coat throwing it over his shoulders.

"What... are you?" she asked as she reached up to uncover his mouth. He roughly slapped her hand away and gave her a hard shove that sent her crashing into her cluttered coffee table, scattering all of its contents to the floor.

"A monster!" he removed his hands to let her see his massive fangs, and glowing red eyes. "Do you understand now!? Stay away from me!" he growled in a voice that was unrecognizable as his own. He turned away from her and stormed out of her apartment as quickly as he could. She sat in the clutter shaking violently. That explained it. That explained _everything. _

Getting a hold of herself she ran back to her room and finished packing her bags. Only it wasn't her parents house that she planned on going to now. She knew her only safe haven left was with Officer Preston.


	10. Not Vampires

(Chapter 10)

**Not Vampires**

"You did what!?" Reno yelled in a whisper. The two men stood outside on the porch while the shaken Yuffie sat inside on the couch peering at the two through a crack in the window.

_So Vincent is a vampire too! And...Vivina knows now. I should go find her maybe together we can escape from them._

Reno turned his back to Vincent and Yuffie shot away from the window, hurrying to the kitchen to pretend to be busy drying the dishes. The way he slammed the door and let out that exasperated sigh, she knew he was upset. She tried to stay calm knowing how many times now she'd seen him slightly angry. He'd never hurt her before, why would he now?

"Is everything ok?" she turned to him as he paused by the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yeah... Vincent's moving to Kalm. He's gonna need help finding a place and getting settled in so I'm gonna be gone for a while. You might want to go back to your father's place for a while, Yuffie." For once he spoke without a hint of a smirk or his casual slouched posture. He was standing up right and looking at her with a very serious expression. She nodded quickly and put the dish she was holding away.

It was Reno's turn to be suspicious. Anytime he said he had to be out of town, Yuffie would cling onto him begging him not to go anywhere. She'd nuzzle and cuddle him until he either allowed her to come with, or just gave up and stayed. "Are you... ok with that?" he took a few steps towards her and observed how she tensed up. "Yuffie?"

"I...I'm fine!" she let out a laugh. "It's just... I'm just gonna miss him, that's all." she smiled up at him before tossing her drying rag aside and looking for something else to busy herself with. Reno blocked her path noticing her hard swallow. Kalm wasn't that far away. They would be able to go visit him anytime they wanted to so he knew that was a lie.

"What's wrong?" he asked looking down into her wide grey eyes. "You're acting weird, and I don't like it."

She looked down wondering would it be a good idea to let him know she knew. Her mind took her to the worst possible scenario. 'You know the secret... now I must kill you.' She saw him saying. She shook her head.

"Yuffie." he said again.

"Just go, ok! I'm fine!" she rushed past him and hurried into their bedroom locking the door. Reno paused for a moment then realized she must have been eavesdropping after all. He teleported into the room. Yuffie gasped and jumped into the bed throwing the covers over her.

"Yuffie... I'm not going to hurt you." he sat down on the bed and pulled the covers away from her face. The look in her wide eyes nearly broke his heart. "Did you not hear the part where I said you're not my type?" He cleared his throat and rephrased that. "My type as in what I would normally enjoy feeding on." He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. She flinched slightly but then sat up to face him.

"Y..you're a vampire..."

"_Not_ exactly. I can eat normal food, I don't have to drink blood ever if I don't want to. I sleep at night, I can't turn into a bat, I'm not pale, my skin's not cold, I still have a heart beat... Do I need to go on?" he moved closer to her and kissed her cheek.

"Then what...?" He put a finger to her lips.

"I'm Reno, the same Reno you've known thus far and the same Reno I'll be forever, ok?" He cradled her round face in his hand. His persuasive abilities won her over and she was done questioning him. In fact she let out a sigh of relief and embraced him.

"But... why's Vinnie leaving? He doesn't have to drink blood either, right? So...he won't hurt Vivina."

Reno looked down with a sigh. "She is his _type._ When we get around our _"type"_ it's hard to control the urges..."

"Oh.." Yuffie nodded. "So we should stop pressuring him because if he does get close to her he can..."

"Right." Reno cut in saving her from going into the gory details.

/\

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Vincent left Reno's place walking aimlessly for a while. It had been a little more than a few hours now since his outburst. He was ashamed, embarrassed, and frustrated at the same time. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her lips coming towards his hungry for the affection he couldn't give to her. He licked his lips still tasting her sweet flavor. While walking he hadn't realized that he was going in the direction to her house. He stopped in his tracks and turned in a different direction. Just as he was about to cross the road, a cop car flew by him. He knew that car as officer Preston's. Had she called the cops? He wondered. He followed the car to see that its destination was indeed Vivina's home.

"What's wrong?" Preston asked her immediately pulling her into his arms. She was still slightly shaken, but had her bag on her shoulder and a pair of pants on now.

"S..someone's been stalking me here. I just need to leave for a while." she said pulling away from him. He nodded taking her bag off her shoulder and putting it on his own.

"Ok. That's fine, let's go. You can stay with me as long as you want."

Vincent watched as Vivina got into the police car. He didn't mind that. It wasn't until he saw the bag that he minded. She was going away to stay with him...His heart dropped into his stomach and he turned away from the scene. He tried to tell himself it didn't matter. He was leaving anyway and he _wouldn't_ come back. He _couldn't _come back...

/\

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Reno took care of the finances in getting Vincent a tiny one bedroom apartment on the first floor of a ten floor apartment complex. It was a bit grungy, but Vincent couldn't complain. Whoever lived here before obvious had kids and pets as there were carpet stains galore and crayon marks on the walls. They found him some roughly used furniture and a mattress. According to Vincent that was all he needed.

He was hired at a weapon shop, he would be in charge of cleaning and inspecting all the new weapons brought in to sell. Vincent was relieved that he wouldn't have to be involved with the public. He had a tiny room at the back of the shop where he could work and no one would bother him. Of course he would have to communicated briefly with the boss ever so often.

He laid down on his mattress ready to sleep for the first night in his new home. Sleep? Ha, who was he kidding. It had only been two days and he already missed the sight of her. He already felt the urge to torture himself with her presence. He looked over at the alarm clock that sat on the brown carpet next to his mattress. He could run all the way to Midgar and be there in less than five minutes... He rolled away from the clock. No... He wouldn't. He closed his eyes trying to force sleep upon himself. Surprisingly enough it worked and the next thing he knew he on his way to his first day of his new job.

"Vinnie! So, how's everything?" Yuffie asked cheerfully. Work had been ok, the apartment was ok, he was fine.

"Fine." he answered. He sat down on his mattress ready to listen to her. They decided to continue his language lessons over the phone and during Christmas vacation that started in just three weeks , she'd come visit him.

"Reno says hi. He hopes you're doing ok... you know, about the whole Vivina and the police officer thing." she covered her mouth instantly. "Oops. I wasn't supposed to say anything. I'm so sorry I mentioned it Vince, really."

"It's ok, Yuffie. I want Vivina to be...happy. I can't...be that person." he sighed and laid down. Yuffie quickly changed the subject and started elaborating on different verb tenses. She surprisingly had to get out a grammar book herself to make sure she was teaching him right.

After about an hour of listening to her, they hung up and Vincent tried to sleep again.

/\

\/

Vivina woke up as a light lit up the room. Living alone, Baralai also had a very tiny one bedroom apartment. The kitchen and living room were practically one room they were so close. Him opening the fridge illuminated the whole area. She had always been so sensitive to any kind of light and on top of that she had been on edge these past few days wondering if her stalker was going to come find her here. She suspected that if he saw her living with another man he'd get angry. And there was no telling what that...whatever he was... had intended to do to them.

"Sorry." He mumbled. He was _not_ a morning person and having this unexpected change to early morning shift had pissed him off. Not only that, today was Thanksgiving. It was four thirty now and he had to be at the department by five. "Early shift..."

"Mm." Vivina responded closing her eyes again. She was sleeping on his fold out couch wrapped in what seemed like a million blankets. The apartment complex was ten floors high and the heating was out sporadically through them. The vents in Baralai's bathroom and his bedroom gave heat, but strangely enough none of the others did. Of course he insisted that she take his bedroom, but she wouldn't. So he gave her every blanket in the house leaving himself with a thin sheet to sleep with. His bed was big enough for two, but he didn't want to insist that. He was happy enough with just having her there in his home. He stared at her as she slipped back into slumber. He had to admit he did always have something for those darker more mysterious beauties... Though he wanted nothing more than to spend the day with her, he dressed himself in his uniform and headed off to the station.

Vivina awoke again at a more reasonable time for her. Noon. She yawned as she headed over to the refrigerator. He kept the thing nearly empty. She was lucky enough to find some jam to put on her toast and some orange juice. Her cell phone rang again. This time instead of her mother it was Lulu.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?" Lulu asked.

"I'm going to spend Thanksgiving with the officer..." Vivina lied. She didn't want to go into the whole story about her stalker turning out to be some kind of rabid vampire.

"When were you going to let someone know? We've all been waiting. Mom's going to be terribly disappointed and so will father."

Vivina rolled her eyes. "It was last minute. His family's going to be in town only for Thanksgiving and he wanted to introduce me to his parents." She cringed at what a horrible lie that was. "They're from Costa Del Sol, so...they don't know..." She added trying to make the lie a little more believable. No one around here would be so eager to introduce _her_ to their parents.

"I see." Lulu sighed heavily. "Mom will kill you if you miss Christmas. Bye." she hung up without another word. Vivina sighed and pushed her cell phone to the side as she finished her breakfast. She blinked slowly and the memory flashed through her mind again. The huge fangs... the look of pure fury in his crimson colored eyes... the force that sent her flying across the room into her coffee table. She looked down and stroked the purple bruise that her tattoos almost completely hid. But that wasn't the only memory that haunted her. The feeling she got from his embrace was unlike any embrace she'd ever felt. It was like she was at home there. Holding him like that, it was the first time since Squall's death that she felt like she was in a place she belonged. She laughed to herself. Was this her karma? Wanting to belong to a monster... After eating she stepped outside on his balcony to smoke a cigarette. Her eyes scanned the streets below looking for a black figure that would undoubtedly be him. He wanted her to stay away, but would he? She shivered and went back inside. She wondered if Reno knew about his friend. And what about Yuffie? That poor naive little seventeen year old... She couldn't resist calling Reno's number.

"Yo, who's this?"

"Vivina."

Reno slammed on his breaks and pulled over.

"Whoa...is everything ok?" she asked hearing all the tires squealing.

"Yeah... uh...so what's up?" He hurried out of his car slamming the door and walked a few feet away. The woman in his passenger seat just watched in suspicion.

"Your friend, Vincent...he's not... you know he's not normal right." Vivina said a little more casually than she thought she should have.

"I know he told me what happened. Look, Vincent's not out to harm you. In fact two days ago he moved to Kalm so that he could stay away from you." Reno said sitting down on a bench by a bus stop. The woman in his car just crossed her arms and sighed.

"What is he?"

"_We_ are humans that just happened to be manipulated by this weirdo science nerd name Hojo. Yuffie calls us vampires, but that's not really what we are. It's a long story... but at any rate, Vincent is kind of dangerous to you but it's not his fault. So don't start hating him or anything, ok? That would really hurt him." Reno kept his eyes on the woman in his car.

"Ok... " Vivina trailed off.

"Look, I'll explain more to you later. I gotta go." he hung up before she could say anything else. Vivina sat her phone aside again and curled back up on the couch.

/\

\/

Reno hung the do not disturb sign on the door before slamming it shut. _I hate this...I hate this... _He heard her giggling behind him and suddenly she jumped on his back. Her scent filled his nostrils, lighting his eyes up and pulling his fangs out. He flipped her over his back onto the bed and dove at her. He pushed her long chocolate brown hair over her shoulder and dug his fangs into her neck. He did it so quickly she hadn't had time to scream. She was dead before she even realized what happened to her and Reno didn't leave a single hair of hers behind in that hotel room...

They didn't _have_ to do this. But it was like a drug to them and once you've gotten addicted... Plus, each human life consumed made them more powerful. Another twenty lives and Reno would be able to teleport from town to town instead of just block to block. He didn't want to think about the twenty people who would have to die to get him that far, but the demon inside him didn't care...


	11. Hard to Watch

(Chapter 11)

**Hard to Watch**

Vivina sat on the park swing alone in the deserted playground. She shivered slightly as a painfully cold breeze whipped by. This place was so extremely creepy at night she could hardly believe _children _played here during the day. She glanced down at her cell phone to check the time. _If he doesn't get here in five more..._

Suddenly the dim light from the flickering street light was blocked out. She glanced up to see Reno leaning against the one of the swing set's poles. "Shit! How did you... I didn't hear a..." before she could finish her sentence. He was on the other side of her sitting in the swing next to her. "What the f..."

He laughed and swung his legs out as he began to swing slightly. He stopped himself after a few seconds and glanced over at her. "Watch this." He cupped her cheek lightly with his hand and suddenly they were both standing near the metal slide. Vivina glanced around at her surroundings then back up at Reno. To his surprise a wide grin spread over her face.

"Sweet!" She even laughed slightly. Reno wished Vincent could be there to see her smile and hear her soft laugh. "Can he do that too?"

He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. He shook his head no. "Vince's thing is his agility. He could probably run almost as fast as I can teleport. There's two others that we know of, but I haven't seen either of them in...what fifteen years now probably." He touched her again and they were sitting in his car.

"Wow." she smiled again. "So...fifteen years?! You guys must also be..."

"Immortal." Reno finished with a grin. He reclined his seat and looked up at the sky through his sunroof. Vivina just stared out the window at the creepy park.

"So are you and the donut eater official and exclusive and shit?" he asked glancing down at her. She scoffed at his question but didn't give an answer. He reached over and poked her in the side.

"Hey it's not like your friend is making any effort..." she turned her attention back out the window were she could now see two stray cats playing near the jungle gym.

"He can't! He doesn't want to hurt you. You're his _type_ Vivina. His demon's favorite kind of food." Reno chuckled softly. "I knew it had to be something..."

"What?" she shot him a confused look.

"Each one of us has our own specific type of person that gives us the urge to feed. Maybe it's in your blood or just your personal scent, I don't know, but that one element will drive us literally insane over you. Watching from a distance is fine... it's kind of like being on a diet and walking by that delicious looking cake in the grocery store that you wanna just eat so bad, but can't cause it'd ruin everything... Well, this situation is a little more severe since eating a human has a little more impact than eating a cake, but you get it right?" He sat up slightly so he could look her in the eyes.

She had to laugh a little at his explanation, but nodded. "Yeah... I guess I understand. But you said you knew it had to be something..." She wanted to know exactly what he meant by that.

"Vincent's not the type to get all obsessed over a girl for no reason. Not anymore anyways. The last time I saw him he was solely devoted to his first love that passed away. He's not the type to just up and find someone else just like that and forget all about Lucrecia_._ His ex."

Vivina nodded again. "Yes... That's where he first saw me anyways...at the cemetery." She thought back to that moment noting how completely oblivious she had been to his presence there. She smirked. "I must have looked like a complete basket case then..."

"I wouldn't have mattered what you were doing, Vivina. When we find our type, nothing can stop it from drawing us in." Suddenly all the humor and nonchalant tone was gone from his voice. She stared into his eyes for a while before looking away.

"So...Yuffie's not your type then." She said quietly her tone made it seem like that was a bad thing. Reno was quick to correct her.

"That's a good thing. She's not my type, but it doesn't mean I'm not attracted to her at all or that I don't feel for her, cause I sorta kinda do. On top of that at least I can be around her without worrying about if I'm going to hurt her or worse kill her. I wouldn't want that... "

"But you will hurt her. Once she finds out that you're not getting any old..." She turned to look at him to see his reaction to that. She was surprised to find him grimacing slightly.

"It's selfish, I know. But... should it come down to it. There's a way normal humans can become like us." he said in a softer voice. Almost as if he were afraid someone would hear such a thing.

"How?" She had to clear her throat after sounding so interested.

"I don't know." Reno chuckled slightly. "But I was normal once, and look at me! So... if she truly wants to be with me forever. I mean, if she totally wants to give up human life all together and become a monster, then I'd try to find a way for her."

Vivina just nodded. Silence took over for a while. Reno watched her carefully as she thought over all the information he'd just given her. "So..." she started softly. There was another long pause and he didn't rush her. "So, there's nothing you can do to go back to normal..."

He sighed softly. "No..."

She sighed heavily. She felt bad for them, she really did, but instead of seeing more humans being turned into monsters she'd rather hear him say he would try to find a way to cure their curse and turn them back into humans.

Feeling a bit safer after talking with Reno, Vivina went back to her apartment and once again distanced herself from Officer Preston. Though he was still persistent, he was also just as patient with her.

Vincent watched through the snowflakes as Paine dropped Vivina off at her apartment after their day together. She stood by her door for a while watching the huge flakes under the street light. He bit his lip turning his eyes to the snow covered ground. _It'll never happen..._

/\

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Winter turned colder bringing a white, but very icy Christmas. Despite the unsafe weather, Vivina's family still insisted she join them and she did. They were better to her than she thought they would have been. They even had gifts for her sitting under their over decorated tree. She almost felt like she was a child again for a moment...

...and then winter turned into spring then the spring warmed into summer again. Vivina found herself putting flowers on his grave marking the one year anniversary of his death. Of course it was night as usual. She didn't want to risk the chance of running into one of Squall's relatives out here. She'd let them have it if she did. They acted like the victims, but she knew that she was the one hurting...she was the one missing him the most.

Vincent was well aware that it had happened around this time. He'd actually put in a request for this entire week and the next week off so that he could watch over her. He couldn't resist being there at the cemetery to witness her reaction, and was relieved to see how well she'd kept herself together this time. She laid the flowers down with a small smile on her face and sat down Indian style on the ground in front the grave. She closed her eyes for a while and appeared to be praying. She opened her eyes and stood up turning away from the grave and walking back towards the police car that had brought her.

Vincent forgot himself and hopped out from behind the tombstone he was hiding behind. A stick snapped loudly under his weight. He cringed as Vivina immediately stopped and spun around. He slipped behind a tree.

"Is that you?" she asked walking closer to where he was hiding. Vincent strategically slid around the tree as she was walking close, successfully staying out of view but clumsily snapping more twigs as he did so. A warm, sticky breeze carried her scent to his nostrils. He held his breath and closed his eyes.

"Vincent?" Vivina moved away from him and looked around at the tombstone he had been standing behind. She glanced down and saw the name Lucrecia Crescent. She remembered hearing the name Lucrecia from Reno. It wasn't a very common name so she knew this must be the right grave. "I know you're here, Vincent." she said while staring at the angle shaped grave. He didn't move, he didn't even breathe. She could know all she wanted to, he was not about to be seen.

"It's been one year..."

Vincent swallowed hard, he knew how sick that must make him seem. He couldn't help his obsession with her. It was either kill and eat her or obsess over her and he'd rather not kill her.

"I'm glad Reno explained everything... because I'd be really confused right now..." She smirked and looked over at the tree she knew he was behind. Vincent tensed up as if he could feel her gaze through the tree. "That's really all I ever wanted from you... was to know why you did this." She took a few steps towards the tree. Vincent prepared himself to run. She took the last few steps that brought her within an arms distance of the tree. "Vincent." she said firmly. He let out a sigh and came out from behind the tree to face her. She took a few steps back, shocked at what she saw. He was actually in normal clothes consisting of a short sleeved buttoned down black shirt and a pair of black jeans. His golden claw had been painted black in order to make it a little less noticeable. The humidity has his hair looking a bit thicker, hanging down his back in dark waves. Shorter pieces of his long black mane framed his strikingly pale face. His cheekbones were reddened slightly from sun exposure. Not that he enjoyed being outside, but he _had_ to watch her. He was so much more handsome than she initially remembered him being. And if it wasn't for the fact that she had indeed gone exclusive with the officer, she would have taken the risk and dove into his arms again.

"Vivina?" a voice called.

Both of them tensed as they heard a car door slam. She shot him an apologetic look as she walked towards him. She stopped just a few inches in front of him. He shuddered and dropped his eyes to the ground. She eyed him carefully not wanting to forget just how beautiful he was. It could be another six months or more before she ever faced him again, if ever... Feeling her eyes analyze him, he couldn't help but to look up at her again.

"Viv? Babe?" his voice sounded a little too close this time. Vivina held eye contact with him for a few more seconds before brushing past him. She purposely brushed the back of her hand against his human hand as she passed by. Vincent drew in a sharp breath and was almost ready to speak, but she was already walking away with _him._

"Are you ok?" he heard the officer ask her.

"Yeah I'm fine, let's go." she responded. He turned around in time to see her walking hand in hand with the officer to his car where they paused for what seemed like the longest embrace he'd ever had to watch.

"I know everyone says this, but... I think he'd be happy to see you moving on." Baralai said as he started the car. Vivina smiled slightly.

"I know."

He brought her to her apartment and dropped her off so he could finish his shift. He worked more hours now that he had been paying for both her rent and his own. She felt bad counting on him like that, but still no one would hire her and she wasn't ready to move in with him just yet. As soon as he rolled off her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. It wasn't unlike him to call her right after they parted so she expected it to be him.

"Hey..." she said softly.

Vincent sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hello?" she pulled the phone away from her face to look at the number on the screen. She gasped slightly. "Vincent?"

He was still leaning up against that tree frozen by the affect her scent had on him. How he was even able to call her like this was beyond him.

"Vincent." she said more firmly. "If you don't say anything I'm going to hang up."

Her threat when right over his head as he stood in silence.

"Goodbye Vin..."

"No..." he spoke suddenly and then there was another period of silence. "I...I'm sorry, Vivina...but I...will always...watch." with that said he cut the line abruptly.

The sound of the sudden click made her jump slightly. Well at least it was confirmed... She thought as she tossed her phone aside. A small smirk tugged at her lips as she wondered how long he'd be able to watch her with officer Preston before he eventually gave in and interfered.

Vincent closed his eyes trying to ignore the pain twisting his heart. He would _have _to let her go... He'd have to watch her find someone else. He'd have to watch her walk down the aisle to join another man at the altar. He'd see her with her stomach swollen with the life of another man's child inside her. He'd notice the first grey strand life would stain her hair with. He'd be watching her children too. He knew that after all her mistakes, she'd be a better parent and raise level headed successful young adults. He'd see her first grandchild. He swallowed hard as he thoughts progressed. He'd still be watching as old age took its toll on her. He'd watch her funeral from afar. His eyes shifted to Lucrecia tomb stone. And when she was buried he'd spend every day watching over it until he could feel her soul enter the world through a new being. However, he could _never _interfere again. At least that is what he would keep telling himself.


	12. Hidden Love

TigerRaiken, this chapter isn't much longer... lol but I promise the next one will be.

and thanks to anyone who is reviewing.

(Chapter 12)

**Hidden Love**

Vincent sat on the edge of his mattress counting the extra money he had left over for the month. Reno advised him to invest in a car or at least a bike so that people don't start getting suspicious seeing him travelling around so quickly on just his two feet. He didn't disagree with the idea, but driving wasn't something he was used to... He worried more for the rest of the people who could possibly be affected by _him_ owning a car.

He opened a small box with the left over money from last month and add the two piles together. He had more than enough to put a down payment on a halfway decent car. He eyed the money in his hands. He could put it towards a car...or... he could give it to someone he knew needed it. Maybe if she wasn't hurting so badly for money being unemployed and all she wouldn't have to depend on the officer. He frowned at that thought and mentally scolded himself for thinking that way. Nevertheless he made up his mind. He was going to give it all to her.

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Baralai chatted happily about his latest arrest of a local gas station burglar who had been on the loose for the past two months. He spilled every single detail of the entire night it all went down. Vivina smiled as he talked. Her smile would widen every time he made eye contact with her, but would fade slightly every time he looked away. Her mind was still on her stalker wondering if he was watching right now. The two were seated outside on a balcony of one of the higher end restaurants in town. Tonight was Friday, he had just got paid, and traditionally took her out to an expensive dinner. He caught her looking around and cleared his throat awkwardly as he completely changed subjects.

"So, has that...stalker still been watching you? I've made my rounds as much as possible around your apartment and I've never seen anything suspicious."

Vivina mentally rolled her eyes, but kept her face void of all her annoyance. Of course he wouldn't be able to catch him. Vincent could dash away in a matter of milliseconds if he saw or heard Officer Preston's cruiser coming around the corner. "No actually I haven't been bothered. Maybe it was just a false alarm after all."

"Well that's good, Viv." He stared at her for the longest time with a warm smile on his face. She twirled her hair and looked away awkwardly. His affection still made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She was slightly relieved to get home and out from under him. He was just waiting for the right moment to drop the big L word, but didn't think she was ready to hear that yet. And he was right, she wasn't.

She peaked inside her mail box though she'd already got her normal mail earlier today. Sure enough there was a small unmarked envelope inside. It was also unsealed. She opened it and saw all the green bills. _Vincent?_ She looked around searching for any clue. Couldn't he at least wave at her from afar, give her a nod of approval. Did he _mean_ to do this? Was it even him that did this? There was four months worth of rent in this envelope! She ran inside and pulled out her cell phone quickly finding his number and calling.

Vincent actually hadn't been watching. He didn't want to see her reaction to him giving her money, he just wanted her to take it. He was already back in Kalm, stepping into his own apartment. Before he could even sit down he felt his phone vibrating. Yuffie was the only person in the world that ever called him so he answered it not even considering who it may just be.

"Hello..." he said casually.

"Did you...put that money in my mailbox." She asked hesitantly. The silence on the other end almost made her question whether or not the phone was still connected. She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked down confirming this much.

"Yes..." he said softly before closing his phone, cutting off the line.

_Did he just hang up on me? _Vivina glared into her phone.

/\

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Vincent walked the streets of Kalm alone. He looked up as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. In the brief moment he took his eyes off of the path he was walking on, his body collided with another. He heard a small gasp and looked down to meet a pair of familiar eyes.

"Elena?" he asked gently helping her to her feet. The tiny blond woman could only stare at Vincent with wide grateful eyes. She smiled brightly and breathed a soft laugh. She hadn't been fortunate enough to have a friend like Yuffie to spend hours and hours with her working on her communication skills. Elena was a little bit further along with language than Vincent had been on his own.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as he gently guided her closer to a building with a canopy out front for them to stand under. He may have already been drenched, but she wasn't yet.

"Mm... Rude...uh... looking for cure." her hazel brown eyes filled with hope as she stared up at Vincent. He nodded.

"Where?"

"Nnn... C..Cosmo."

"Canyon?"

"Mm!" Elena nodded eagerly. "Yes." She smiled brightly again. Vincent didn't return the smile. Elena's smile faded. Her skill was her ability of seeing into people's memories. She closed her eyes for a brief moment focusing on the somber man beside her. Flashes of different moments that Vincent had watched Vivina flew through Elena's mind like a slide show. The pictures he had drawn of her flipped through her mind like a cartoon coming to life. She opened her eyes again to meet his.

"V..Vi..vina?" she asked squinting her eyes slightly as she tried hearing her name through his memory. Vincent's eyes widened and he turned away from Elena.

"Don't." he said simply.

Elena was able to sense his hostility so she chose not to pry anymore. She gently tapped his shoulder. He turned his head to the side without looking at her, yet giving her his attention again.

"Your home?"

Vincent pointed down the street to the building he was heading to.

"Can I go?" The sky lit up again and the thunder crashed making her jump slightly. Guessing already at what Elena's new skill was, Vincent honestly didn't want to be around her letting her invade all his memories. He was embarrassed and ashamed of his obsession with Vivina and it really wasn't something he wanted to share with anyone else. Nevertheless, he allowed her to follow him into his home.

/\

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Reno opened his front door and was shocked to see Vincent followed by Elena walking into his house. "Well hello there!" he teased lightly. He'd tried so hard through their entire time as Turks to get in Elena's pants. He couldn't count the times he'd felt her hand slap across his face. Fifteen years later and she still gave him that same glare that he knew meant he better not lay a finger on her.

Vincent cut straight to the chase. "Rude's in Cosmo Canyon...looking for a cure."

"What makes him think he'll find it there?! We need to get back inside Shinra Manor and get our hands on Hojo's records."

Vincent thought for a moment. Elena glanced around the house and wandered over to the couch to sit down. "He...studied very much in Cosmo Canyon with...people there..." he finally said after a few moments of silence. He couldn't think of the word researchers, but he knew Reno would get his point.

Reno nodded at that he then looked away. "I mean... this really isn't that bad, you know. Even if there is a cure... I'd rather stay like this." He cleared his throat. He hadn't stopped feeding on humans. Vincent could smell human blood in his breath this very moment.

"Where's Yuffie?" Vincent asked almost a little too quickly. Reno, feeling accused, jerked his head back and shot him a look.

"She's out with friends." he answered. "Look, don't judge me ok." he took a step forward breaking into Vincent's personal space. What Reno didn't know that although he got more powerful with every human life he took, he was losing his own humanity in the process. If he continued on the path he was on right now he'd turn himself into a raging demon with no sense of humanity what so ever. His aggression was already starting to get out of control. Vincent noticed how his nostrils flared and his jaw tensed as Reno continued to stare at him waiting for him to respond.

"It's wrong, Reno." came Vincent's matter-of-factly statement. Avoiding further confrontation, he took a step back and glanced over at Elena. "I will pay Yuffie to teach her."

Reno's glare subsided and the tension in the room faded. "Fine."

"I'll return." he muttered to Elena as he left the house. Though Elena had not seen him in thirty years she still knew him too well. Neither her or Reno had to guess where he was headed to. She narrowed her eyes at his retreating figure. Never once in her life had she admitted out loud that she loved that man. It was forbidden when they were Turks especially being on a team like they were. Not to mention he was busy obsessing of Lucrecia...

/\

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"...well isn't that unfortunate." Vivina said with a chuckle. There was a long pause on the other end before Paine spoke again.

"No really, Vivina. Selphie isn't the only one that's been reported missing in the last couple of months. This could be something really serious. What's that stalker guy been up to lately?"

Vivina was kind of shocked that Paine would just right out blame Vincent for all the disappearances in the town. It made her wonder just how much she knew about Vincent, because she had yet to tell Paine herself what she knew about him and Reno. Speaking of... it could have very well been Reno doing this. Though Vivina knew she deserved Selphie's hatred, the girl was taking things too far and Vivina was fed up with dealing with it all. To this date it still hurt bad enough knowing what she did, she didn't need rude reminders from some young girl she never even been fond of to begin with. At this point she didn't give a damn if she was Squall's sister or not. Rumor had it that Selphie was the one who started the fire at Tifa's bar.

"I haven't really seen him, but... Paine, I know he wouldn't do anything like this. He could have killed me a million times by now and he hasn't. It's been more than a year now..." She lounged on her couch enjoying the one cigarette she was allowing herself to have today. Baralai wasn't a fan of smoking, and to her it wasn't a bad idea to quit. The curtain over her window was cracked just enough so a certain someone could watch her if they wanted to and Vincent was indeed outside taking advantage of it.

His eyes travelled across her bare back and down the vibrant tattoos that covered her shoulder to her elbow. He watched as she gathered up her hair and tossed it over her shoulder covering her back again. He watched her lips wrap around her cigarette and suck in another drag. The smoke left her lips in a cloud over her head. His heart tightened at every smile, but it made him feel ok knowing that she was ok.

He dashed away as lights came around the corner. It would undoubtedly be the officer and getting caught by him would be the last thing Vincent would ever do. Elena had no talents that increased her speed. Him dashing unexpectedly in her direction at the sight of car lights knocked her to the ground. Vincent spun around to look at what he had plowed down in his rush.

"Elena?" His eyes were surprised at first, but then they slowly narrowed and his lips turn down into a displeased frown. She brushed herself off and stood quickly. She looked up into his eyes reviewing every bit of what he had just been watching.

"You can't." she said looking away. "You can't...." she repeated softly. She fought to keep her emotions hidden. All she really wanted to do was run inside that house and rip that human to shreds. She'd waited long enough and now that she had found him... No one would stand in her way!

Vincent brushed past her starting back towards Reno's home. As happy as he was to see his teammates still alive, his life was so much easier when he was alone in this world. He tried to keep a slow pace so she could follow, but all he wanted to do was take off. He glanced back to see if she was still following him and saw the area around him completely empty.

/\

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Vivina heard a soft knocking at her door. It was so soft that had she not been sitting on the sofa near the door, she would not have heard it at all. "Paine, someone's at my door. I'll call you tomorrow, alright and we can talk more about this in person."

"Maybe I should stay on the line. It's dangerous out there, Viv. There _is_ a killer on the loose."

Vivina sighed. "Ok. Hold on." she put the phone on speaker and sat it down on her coffee table. Paine indeed had her a little shook up so she leaned forward slowly looking through the peep hole. A tiny blond woman stood there. Lights from a passing car allowed for her face to be shown. Vivina had no idea who she was, but was sure she could take her if this was the killer. She pulled the door open slowly.

"Hi..." Vivina said softly.

Elena just stared up at her. Vivina's unique beauty made her sick.

"Can I help you?"

"Vincent's not watching now..." she said slowly taking a step towards Vivina. Elena smiled slightly realizing she and Vincent had similar taste. Her scent was indeed very enticing. A few more human lives would do her talent good as well. The stronger it got, the closer she would get to being able to fully read a person's mind, both current and past thoughts. She browsed through Vivina's memories and was surprised that this woman was not completely freaked out by Vincent's obsession, but seemed to be welcoming it in a way.

"He's...not?" Vivina took a step backwards and reached towards her cell phone. "Hey, Paine? You still coming over?" she asked casually. Paine instantly took the bait and hung up the phone. Elena smiled. _2 humans lives in one night..._ She thought eying the one in front of her.

Vivina gasped as she saw the woman's eyes begin to glow that dark red color. Elena opened her mouth, hissing as her jaw extended and her fangs became visible. Vivina shot a look back at her opened window.

_Vincent..._


	13. Controlling the Hunger

(Chapter 13)

**Controlling the Hunger**

Vincent traced his steps, knowing exactly where his missing teammate would be. Once again he couldn't help regretting that he had reunited with the two of them; Reno and Elena. A silver car raced past him at a high enough speed to blow his long hair wildly behind him. His eyes widened when he recognized the car. It was Paine's... He realized there must be an emergency. _Elena wouldn't_... He let his feet take flight and was to the apartment in seconds. His heart stopped when he heard a blood curdling scream from inside.

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Paine laid on the living room floor holding her bleeding shoulder that Elena had just taking a bite out of. Blood soaked her long sleeved black shirt and began to drip on the carpet. Elena turned back to Vivina grinning at her with her blood stained fangs. Vivina backed away slowly reaching behind her and picking up a heavy glass angel that was sitting on the shelf at the back of her small living room. Elena took a few steps towards her, cornering her. Vivina took a deep breath before quickly lifting her arm and throwing the heavy item directly into Elena's face.

Elena growled as she held her face looking down at her hands at the blood that dripped out of the cut the sharp angel wing had left on her cheek. Vivina ran into her bedroom shutting and locking the door behind her. She snatched up her house phone and called the police officer.

"Hello?"

"Baralai! There's someone in my house! She...she's trying to kill me. Hurry!" She said in a hushed panic voice.

"I'll be right there." he immediately hung up the phone and rounded up his partners.

Vivina hung up the phone and began to push her heavy dresser across the floor to block the door. Elena roared as she was unable to get through the blocked door. A smile spread over her cut face as she walked out of the apartment. She darted around the back of the building to Vivina's window. On her way she picked up two cement blocks.

Vivina sat on the floor holding her chest in a panic, yet slightly relieved knowing at least she was safe and help was on the way. Glass shattered followed by a huge thud sound as the first cement block entered the room. She looked up to see the second cement block flying into her room. This time she had scoot out of the way to avoid it. She turned back to see Elena climbing through her window. All she could do was scream...

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Vincent was hesitating by the door bracing himself to face her scent that would undoubtedly consume him as soon as he opened the door. He finally yanked open the door to be greeted with another scent. Paine just so happened to be one of his aversions. The scent from her blood was enough to block out Vivina's for the most part. He wiped the displeasure off of his face and bent down next to the silver haired woman. She was slowly losing consciousness and if an ambulance didn't get here soon she might not make it. Yet where was Vivina?! He looked towards her bedroom in a panic torn between what to do. If there was a single drop of Vivina's blood visible, he'd lose it and be of no help at all to the situation...

Just then the door was kicked open and Baralai and his partner entered the room. Vincent looked up at the two then down at the woman cradled in his arms. "She...needs to go...to the...hospital."

"Where's Vivina?!" Baralai asked in a trembling voice. His blonde partner had already gotten an ambulance on the way and took Vincent's place by Paine's side as Vincent stood up and headed towards the bedroom with Baralai. He would have let him go on his own and avoided seeing Vivina at all, but he didn't know just how strong Elena had gotten. His heart rate increased once he heard another scream followed by a string of pleas to stop.

"Vivina!!" Baralai screamed as he banged on the blocked door. Vincent ran outside to her bedroom window. He climbed through without any problems at all and grabbed a hand full of blond hair yanking Elena's head back after her fangs had been but millimeters away from Vivina's throat. She hissed at him and made an attempt to push past him. Vincent shoved her with all of his strength sending her flying into the wall instantly dinting it with her body. She slid to the floor completely knocked out.

Vivina stared up at her savior in awe. He didn't look at her. He made no eye contact with her at all as he pushed her heavy dresser effortlessly back to where it originally stood allowing Baralai to barge in and scoop her up off the floor. Vivina continued to stare at Vincent over the officer's shoulder watching as he lifted the unconscious Elena in his arms and made his way back over to the window. Her eyes filled with hope that he would turn around and just give her one look. He could feel her eyes on him, but he was afraid if he looked at her it would be all over. Her scent was already getting to him.

"Vincent..." she whispered. Baralai was too busy squeezing her, kissing her cheek and gushing over how happy he was she was unharmed that he failed to hear her call out the other man's name. Vincent shut his eyes at the sound of his name coming from her lips.

"Thank you." she said in a normal voice. A tear ran down her cheek as she continued to stare intently at the back of him. He turned his face to the side not facing her directly.

"I'm sorry." he muttered quietly. He positioned Elena's small body over his shoulder so he could easily maneuver out of the window and was gone into the night before Baralai could even turn around and bust the culprit.

/\

\/

Elena awoke laying on Vincent's couch. He sat in a chair diagonal from her. She cringed after meeting his furious glare. She covered her face with her hands and buried it into the cushion of the couch. He hated her for sure, she thought.

Vincent couldn't find the words to say how he felt at the moment. He wanted to scold her, tell her to get out of his house and never return. He was ready to cut ties with everyone around him and move on to some place he could forget all of this had happened. Yet to each one of these people that inconvenienced him, _he_ was at fault for their dispositions. None of them would be living as monsters right now if it wasn't for his foolishness.

"Elena." his rough voice broke the dead silence in the room.

She immediately looked up at him, forcing the most innocent facial expression she could muster.

His glare softened. "I...'m sorry."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Elena jumped from the couch into his lap. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his hair. Vincent swallowed hard at first, not knowing how to handle the situation. Is already cool skin turned to ice when he felt lips pressing against his neck. He grunted and grabbed her by the waist preparing to push her away.

"Vincent..." she murmured. Her breath still smelled like Paine's blood.

"Elena, I'm sorry, but... I want you to leave." He stood up quickly causing her to slide off of his lap and stagger to keep balance.

"No..."

"You...stay with Reno and Yuffie... I...want to be alone." He turned away from her not leaving any room for an objection.

"Vin..."

"Leave." he said firmly before walking towards his bedroom.

Tears ran down Elena's cheeks but she rubbed them away. She slammed the door behind her as she left his place. She continued to cry as she ran down the sidewalk wishing there was a way to turn back time. What was she thinking!? She thought back to thirty years ago. Killing Lucrecia would have done nothing for her chances then, killing Vivina would do nothing for her chances now... Vincent didn't love her. No matter how hard she'd try, he'd never love her.

She ran and ran until the sky grew lighter. She stood at the end of a bridge looking down into the water. In a few more hours the sun would rise. If she was going to do this, she would have to do it now before the morning traffic started. Plus, the police were already out looking for her. Without another thought she climbed upon the bridge and pushed off with her feet diving straight into the river.

/\

\/

Days passed and Vincent let his daily responsibilities keep him preoccupied. All he wanted to do was run back to Vivina's apartment and check on her. What if Elena had returned? He hadn't heard from Reno or Yuffie to even know if she had gone to their place like he'd told her to. He wasn't as oblivious to her feelings as one would think. He'd known long ago that she longed for his affection, but she was so much like a little sister to him. He could never be with her that way. He knew she was too prideful to break down and confess her one-sided love for him so he didn't have to worry about preparing a rejection speech.

He returned home from work on the third day after he had asked Elena to leave and found a few text messages in his phone.

_Have you seen Elena? I hope you haven't killed her, man._

_-Reno_

_Heeeey, I thought I was getting a new student!_

_-Yuffie_

_Read your texts, moron!_

_-Yuffie_

Vincent sighed out loud. He couldn't kid himself, if something happened to Vivina he'd be truly depressed. He needed her existence in this world. He dialed her number that he had already had memorized and waited to hear her soft voice.

Vivina was over at Paine's house helping her with her daily tasks. Paine couldn't really use right arm at all. She sat down the basket of laundry she had just taken out of the dryer and answered her vibrating phone.

"Hello?"

Vincent felt a rush of relief sweep over him. "Are...you ok?"

Vivina smiled. "Thanks to you."

"She...is missing...so...please be...careful."

She swallowed hard. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Elena. Reno, Elena, and I were...a team...years ago." he said leaving out Rude's name. At this rate she'd eventually come across him.

"Oh I see." She could already guess what was going on. This _Elena_ was obviously in love with Vincent and in desperate need of getting rid of his new obsession. Vivina wondered why he wouldn't just go ahead and be with her if he had no plans of ever getting close to any human.

Vincent's eyes darted around the room as he thought of a way to bring this conversation to an end. One more minute of hearing her voice would drive him insane. "I...have to go now. I want to find her... before... she can get close to...you."

"Ok. I'm staying with Paine right now anyways. She won't find me here."

Vincent shook his head. "Your scent... she can follow it...to anywhere."

She gave another hard swallow. Her stomach even fluttered as she began to feel increasingly paranoid. "Aren't you watching?"

"I can't... all the time."

Vivina's grip tightened around the phone. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but knew it would only make things harder. As miserable as her life could be at times, she wasn't ready to die yet.

"Be safe..." he paused briefly forcing the name from his lips. "Vivina..." He hung up the phone before she could say another word. He squeezed the bridge of his nose as he let out a deep sigh. If it was possible for him to be killed, she'd be the death of him. He knew that he would never be able to completely avoid her. He'd always have contact with her in some way. He left the living room and retreated to his bedroom where his newly purchased untouched canvas stood. He was better at pencil, but he decided to try a new medium, paint.

/\

\/

Elena lay washed up on a bank in an unknown place. After all, she didn't have it in her to drown herself and her body's stamina was much more than she had imagined. She could have swam for hundreds of miles and not gotten tired. After a while she just gave up on swimming and let the river carry her along its path. She gained composure of herself and started walking around the area she now recognized as the Mythril Mines. She continued along the green covered rocky cliffs until she saw two men digging. The bald man stood to wipe sweat from his brow allowing her to see his face.

"Rude!" she screamed startled the man almost to the point of falling off the cliff. He squinted in her direction behind his dark sunglasses.

"Elena is that you?" a smile spread over his lips. He, like Reno, had avoided the loss of language skills and was still completely fluent. She nodded and grinned. He took a mighty leap landing gracefully beside her on the separate cliff she was standing on. "We've got a spare shovel..."

Elena looked at him a bit confused.

"Listen, there is a rare type of mythril buried in that wall. It will be one of the key ingredients to creating somewhat of a cure to this... problem." As he talked Elena could see his fangs, and as he leaned closer she could see that his eyes glowed behind his shades. It didn't matter if he was around his type or not Rude always had the urge to kill. Which is why he was the one most invested in finding a cure.

"How?" she asked. Though she didn't understand his words completely. It was obvious to her what they were doing here.

"After consulting with many doctors and researchers in Cosmo Canyon, they directed me to a man by the name of Murazaki in Wutai. He created the first vampire years and years ago controlling it with this mythril. Murazaki's assistant suggested that we try to find enough of the metal mythril to make rings. Wearing these rings would help control the thirst...and the urge to...eat humans. Yet it also weakens the body and extended exposure to the mythril would end our existence." Rude watched her carefully. Elena had always been quick. To see so much confusion cross her face as he was speaking concerned him.

"What's wrong?"

"I...can't...understand language well..." she looked up at him with sad eyes. Though obviously he was bringing good news, she couldn't escape the depression she still felt over what she had done days before. "Rude... I know...I found...Vincent and Reno."

He gasped. "Where?"

"M...Midgar." she said softly. Rude's eyebrows raised above his glasses.

"How are they surviving in such a big city..." he muttered to himself. Just then his partner looked down from the cliff.

"Hey! I think I found something!" Rude instantly leaped from the lower cliff above to where he had originally been working. The shiny black metal sparkled in the light from above making it stand out from the rest of the dull rock surrounding it.

/\

\/

Reno closed his eyes and though of where he wanted to be. Costa Del Sol. His talent had been getting stronger and stronger. He'd been telling Yuffie it was all due to practice, but that was far from the truth. She grinned as her hand tightened around her suitcase handle. _Costa Del Sol for the weekend? Hell yeah!_

Reno kept his mind focused and soon he could feel the two becoming weightless. The first thing he heard was the sound of the waves, his eyes snapped open only to be pierced by the blindingly bright sun rays. He always kept in mind secluded places. It wouldn't be good to teleport into the middle of a crowded beach, that would definitely draw attention. They were on a private beach which meant they need to jet quickly before anyone saw them.

Yuffie giggled as the two ran hand in hand until they came upon a gravel road. They could see a town ahead and a big hotel sign. "Thanks, Reno! This is going to be so awesome!" she beamed. Reno cleared his through and sent her an awkward smile.

"What's wrong?"

He coughed again and shook his head. "Nothing...I'm just shocked it worked." he looked away. Yuffie noticed that he hadn't been his normal carefree, happy self lately, but couldn't figure out why.

It had actually been two days since he'd attacked any humans and lately he found himself so terribly irritable if he didn't do it for a while. And the more he did it the more often he would need to do it to keep himself from feeling this way. However, he was finding that Vincent was right. This was wrong, and he needed to quit. He needed to quit soon before too many more lives were lost to his reckless behavior.

"We should have invited Vinnie! I bet he's home right now moping like always..." she looked ahead at the town they were approaching. "Or if not Vinnie, we should have asked Vivina! I know she's probably dying to get out from underneath that smotherer of a police officer." Reno responded to her comment with only a slight chuckle and a nod. She looked over at him. "Dude, what's with you?"

"Nothing." he snapped. He closed his eyes to keep from glaring at her.

"It's obviously _something_. We're in freaking Costa Del Sol about to have the time of our lives and you're acting like suddenly you don't even want to be here." she stopped walking completely and stared up at him. "Let me guess... the sun hurting your skin, vampire?"

"Yuffie..." he ran his hands through his hair and down his ponytail. "Let's just get to a hotel, ok? Maybe I'm just tired... that took alot out of me." he muttered as he continued to walk ahead of her. She stared at his retreating form for a while before jogging after him into the town. Reno didn't say another word the rest of the way. If Yuffie kept pushing his buttons, it would be her that he'd attack next.


	14. Rings

(Chapter 14)

**Rings**

Elena hesitated outside of Vincent's door. Yuffie and Reno weren't home so she couldn't take the easy way out and fetch Reno first and then have him fetch Vincent. She _was_ bringing good news though. She lifted her small fist and gently knocked on the wooden door.

An immediate nervousness rushed over Vincent. He'd been receiving texts from Vivina wondering whether or not he had found his killer friend. He didn't answer her. If he answered one it would start a string of conversation and he didn't want that. Would she really arrive at his doorstep? How could she find him? Reno or Yuffie would most likely tell her how to find him...

Elena knocked again, this time a bit harder.

Vincent swallowed hard knowing the risks of opening that door if indeed she was standing there on his doorstep. However, his body involuntarily lifted itself from the couch forced his feet towards the door. He lowered his eye to the tiny window peeping out at the person. Relief washed over him when he saw it was only Elena. He yanked the door open and glared down at her. It was very late at night already technically the next day, but she knew he'd be awake.

"What?" he asked roughly.

"Rude... he found...a cure. He needs yours and Reno's help..." She squeezed her trembling fingers trying to stop the tremors. Even once his face softened and he opened the door wider, it didn't make her any more comfortable. He turned his back to her lifting his cell phone from his pocket.

/\

\/

It was already day light where Reno was. Yuffie was still sleeping off all the alcohol from last night, but he was wide awake fighting against the urge to comb through the coastal city for an appetizing native. Rock music blared from somewhere in his suitcase. By the time he struggled through the suitcase, it had stopped ringing. His eyes widened when he finally picked up the phone and realized he'd missed a call from none other than Vincent Valentine. He quickly called him back.

"Reno, Rude found a cure. He needs our help. Elena is here... we'll follow her...to Rude."

He sighed, almost relieved. "I...don't know how much help I can be Vincent." Vincent instantly picked up the sound of defeat in his voice.

"You will come. Meet me here now."

Reno looked around the hotel room at all the crap he'd have to gather up. "I'm in Costa Del Sol right now. Yuffie and I are on vaca..."

"Now." Vincent hung up the phone and returned to his couch after letting Elena into his house. She sat down quietly in the chair and avoided eye contact with him. Secretly she viewed all the recent memories in his mind. Viewing a person's memories also allowed her to feel their feelings in those moments. She felt the panic that he felt knowing that someone was attacking Vivina. She felt the anger, yet the feeling that he was to blame during the aftermath. She fought to keep the tears away in case he would bother to look in her direction. He sat leaned away from her on the couch with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping, but he was consciously aware of anything either. He was too busy thinking of what it would be like if he could be within Vivina's presence without worrying about hurting her and having to hold back.

Almost a full hour later Reno finally appeared in his living room. He had indeed dozed off a little so Reno's sudden appearance awoke him with a slight start. Reno turned to Elena who was curled up in the chair she sat in staring at the floor in silence. "Where's Rude?" he asked.

She stood slowly and looked back at Vincent to make sure he was coming. He stood almost exactly at the same time and reluctantly took Reno's hand. Elena slipped her fingers around his giving him a half hearted warning look. "Mythril Mines." she said softly.

Vincent let go of Reno's hand as soon as he felt his feet hit the ground. Rubbing his hand off on his black pants. Though it was very early in the morning here, Rude was already digging away. His partner from before was nowhere to be found.

"Rude!" Reno, forgetting his other teammates teleported to the cliff Rude stood on and tackled the taller bald man.

"Damnit Reno..." Rude muttered though he hugged his friend back. Reno looked even more elated when he realized that Rude, like him hadn't forgotten their language. For a second he had forgotten just how _hungry_ he was.

Vincent sighed heavily as he took a few steps back. He snatched Elena's wrist up causing her to gasped loudly. He charged forward jumping barely high enough to land the two on the higher cliff.

"Vincent Valentine." Rude smiled widely as he stared up at him. Vincent simply nodded. Elena finally smiled as she moved forward and gave Rude a friendly hug. The four of them glanced around the circle each of them, even Vincent, were happy to be together again after thirty years of managing on this planet as monsters alone.

The group cut ties with the outside world and focused solely on finding enough of this mythril to make four rings. That would seem like an easy task, but the mythril was so rare you could dig for days and only find a mere nail clipping's worth.

The group continued their search for nearly eight months...

/\

\/

Vivina stared down at the ring in utter shock. _How much did that thing cost? How long has he been hiding it? Is this for real?!_ A million more questions flew through her mind as she stared down at the sparkling object resting in its velvet black box.

Baralai's wide smile slowly faded at her hesitation and suddenly this felt like the worst idea he'd ever had in his life. "I..." he lowered the box and started to stand. Vivina put her hand on his shoulder keeping him in his place.

"I will." the words sounded forced from her lips and he could tell this much. Yet he accepted them and slipped the ring onto her finger. A numbness washed over her as she stood there in his embrace. Even though it had been so long since she had seen or heard from Vincent, he was still the first thing on her mind when she stared down at the ring on her finger. Waiting around for a man that couldn't even stand to be near her wouldn't do her any good. Plus, she owed Baralai the world.

The next morning she immediately got on the phone with her number one best friend.

"Paine! I'm engaged." Vivina said in a panic as if 'engaged' was a state of extreme danger.

"What? Since when and why? ..How?" Paine herself was too emotionally closed off for relationships so she never saw herself getting married. And though she wasn't much of a girly girl either she did have one petty aspect about her and that was if she wasn't ever getting married, she'd rather her best friend remained unmarried as well. Because if Vivina got married, she would change and things would be... different.

"He just asked me last night... I couldn't say no. I'm...to be honest I couldn't find a reason to say no." She rolled away from the window to avoid the blinding sunlight that was pouring in. She clung to her pillow tightly. "I don't know what to do, Paine."

"Don't marry him just because you can't find a reason not to... That's not a good enough reason." Paine said softly. Her voice never rose or fell from its monotone.

"Well, I kind of owe him my life, you know. If it wasn't for him I'd be sitting behind bars right now. And besides that he's even paid my rent a few times. He treats me better than Squall ever thought about treating me, he just lacks that...swagger that I like in a man." She finished her sentence with a smile. That calm, cool, kind of shy but not really, sometimes angsty demeanor. The brooding man you'd find playing his guitar to himself in a corner. That was her type and Baralai was near the opposite end of the spectrum. And though he didn't make her heart flutter or her knees weak, he took care of her. He make sure she was happy and above all she knew that he was indeed madly in love with her.

After explaining all of this to Paine, Vivina was left with the response 'Do not marry that man unless that is what _you_ truly want.' Vivina wondered if she even deserved what she wanted. After what she did, did she even deserve real happiness?

/\

\/

Naturally Vincent's landlord evicted him while mysteriously away for over eight months. Luckily he was nice enough to place Vincent's things in storage. If he wanted them back he 'd have to pay two months worth of rent and the charge of renting the storage unit for eight months. Reno stepped in again and paid for his friend to get all his things back and allowed him to move back in with he and Yuffie.

"Vinnie!" Yuffie tackled him with a hug making him drop nearly everything he was carrying. He grunted in response and patted her back gently with his now free hand. "I'm so mad at you and Reno for running off like that without telling anybody. That was so not fair!" She grinned as she said this. He made eye contact with her and the small sparkle she could see in his eyes let her know that inside he was smiling. He looked at the floor bending down to collect his items he dropped. Reno came to her side and pulled her into a hug that was supposed to distract her from Vincent. He knew his friend all too well. He was ready to get his things put away and go check on his girl.

Vincent did just that.

Though it was coming close to spring again, Midgar nights were still rainy and cold. He slipped back into his trench coat and hat and stepped out into the night. He didn't bother running. He would need the hour or so it would take to get to her apartment to work up enough courage to actually approach her rather than just stand near and watch her. He stared down and the silver band around his finger. The maker got creative and asked each person if they wanted something carved into the metal. Of course Vincent chose to have his Cerberus emblem carved into the center and his signature on the inside of the band.

He passed by a couple and took a deep breath trying to identify their scents. Other than the man's strong cologne he couldn't identify them at all. _So it really works..._ He thought staring back down at his ring.

As he arrived at her apartments he first noticed that Paine's car was parked in the parking lot. That discouraged him a bit. Maybe she was busy. He squinted his eyes and used his above average eye sight to see across the street into her living room window. She and Paine were looking through magazines. He watched as Vivina ripped out a page and held it out for Paine. It had a wedding dress on it. He wondered why she was looking at wedding dresses... He hoped they were for Paine, though he couldn't force himself to believe that.

He watched for nearly an hour as the two talked and continued to look through magazines, taking breaks to smoke their cigarettes. Finally Paine left and Vincent saw the lights in the apartment go out. He dashed across the street and to her door pausing for a few moments before knocking lightly.

Vivina was in the hallway on her way to her bedroom when she heard the knocking. Today had been a long day of early wedding plans. She'd told Lulu about the engagement and as expected Lulu blabbed to their parents. Vivina knew they weren't going to let her get away with having a small wedding at a church in her torn jeans and a T-shirt and Officer Preston in his uniform.

She turned back down the hall and opened the door half expecting it to be Paine again because she left something. Her tired eyes widened when she saw who was standing at her door. Her immediate thought was that he'd been watching her during all of her wedding planning and had finally stepped in to intervene. As he took a step forward into her apartment placing himself not even a foot away from her, her thoughts shifted more towards he had come here to eat her before anyone could marry her. She even gasped slightly.

Vincent was just wishing she would say something so he wouldn't have to speak first. He looked down at her. His eyes still had the tendency to look straight at her neck. The place he would start if he decided to make her his meal.

"Hi...Vincent." she said in almost a whisper.

"Hello, are you...busy now?" he spoke looking down at her carpet. Looking into her eyes made his heart race.

"No... come in. It looks like it's about to start pouring." she said looking past him at the rain coming down. He took another step inside closing the door behind him. She waved him towards the couch as she flipped on the living room light. He slowly sat down as if expecting to break her couch. She took a seat beside him. "Do you want something to drink?" She wouldn't mind having some wine herself. Seeing him again like this had her nerves shot. He nodded.

While she was out of the room he took off his hat and coat and sat them on the arm of her couch. She returned with two full wine glasses and the bottle. The wine was sweet but deadly. The two sipped it quietly before Vivina had to ask. "Is there something wrong with me now? You don't seem to want to eat me." she smirked lightly at him. Surprisingly he smirked back. Butterflies erupted in her stomach.

"Nothing wrong...no." he moved his right hand towards her showing her the ring on his finger. She stared down at it.

"What is it?" she asked rubbing her finger over the design.

He couldn't find the words to describe it properly. "It...helps me...not to want to..."

"Eat me." Vivina finished laughing softly. She smiled up at him causing him to blush. She only laughed harder at his flushed face. He took a long drink and looked away. She took a long swig of her wine finishing the glass. She refilled hers and Vincent's glass though his was still half full. He got nervous watching her drink, hearing her laugh get louder and louder, and watching her scoot closer and closer.

He didn't have to say much to her at this point she just talked and talked and if she had a question for him he'd say two words and she'd finish his answer. His speech was a little too slow for her impatience.

She poured the last of the wine bottle into her glass and tossed the bottle in the trash. "So...that little bitch that tried to kill me... she's in love with you?"

He nodded watching her crack up. He couldn't help but smile yet that ring on her left hand seemed to shine brighter and brighter in his eyes.

"...and she hates me, right?" She laughed again laying across his lap and staring up at him. He smiled down at her and didn't hesitate to stroke her cheek softly running his fingers into her hair. Her smile faded and she stared up at him seriously. She rose from his lap slowly and attacked his lips with a kiss. He ran his human hand through her hair and held on tight as she pressed her lips harder against his. She moaned loudly as she moved her lips against his slipping her tongue in his mouth when he allowed it. He grunted in response trying hard not to stab her with his razor sharp digits on his left hand. The more aroused he got the more he was starting to realize that he still hungered for her. This was still dangerous.

Before he could pull away she surprised him by suddenly jerking away. "I'm engaged." she said like it was breaking news. He nodded glancing down at her ring. She jumped off of him and stumbled away half drunk from the wine and half from Vincent's kiss. "You...you should go." she said pointing at him though she wasn't looking at him. He gathered his coat and hat and put them on before walking towards the door. He heard her sniff and turned towards her in time to see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Vivina..."

"No! Just leave!" she ran back to her bedroom slamming the door shut.

He sighed loudly turning around. He slammed her front door behind him and stormed off into the rainy night. He wasn't mad at Vivina. He couldn't be mad at her. He was angry with himself for intervening when he said he wouldn't. Had he stayed away from her like he promised himself, she would be laying in her bed crying herself to sleep right now.


	15. Hiding Behind Lies

(Chapter Fifteen)

**Hiding Behind Lies**

Yuffie and Reno ate dinner quietly. It was just the two of them at the table tonight again. Vincent hadn't joined them for dinner in over two weeks now. With Vincent living here again, Elena couldn't bear to stay with them any longer. She stuck with Rude instead and he aided in helping her speak again and they moved on to try and find a cure for this cursed that had consumed their lives. They would start at the Shinra Manor searching through the laboratory reviewing all of the reports and research files in hopes of coming across an antidote.

Yuffie cleared her throat after sitting her fork down noisily. "Have you checked on him?" There was a bit of an edge to her voice. Reno nodded. He wasn't himself either. Though the ring did help him resist the urge to feed, it didn't help with the withdrawals he was feeling from going so long without feeding. He had yet to explain his problem to Yuffie, leaving her confused still at his bizarre behavior and odd mood swings. He honestly wondered why she hadn't left yet...

"Well..?"

"He's just depressed. Vivina's gettin' hitched, you know" he muttered behind a napkin as he wiped his mouth.

"What!?" Her eyes widened.

Reno sighed as he took both his and her plates to the sink. "We were gone... I'm sure the cop has been as persistent as ever. What was she supposed to do? For all she knew we might of never came back." he spoke looking down into the sink as he scrubbed the plates and silverware clean. It was pointless to load the dishwasher with only two people eating...

Yuffie stood up quickly and ran back to Vincent's room. She knocked on the door lightly. "Vinnie...?"

Vincent's eyes fluttered open at the sound of that horrific nickname. He knew it was useless to ignore her as she would continue to bang on the door and yell for him until he responded. He pushed himself out of the bed and answered the door.

"Phew! It smells like a dirty vampire in here. Gonna take a shower anytime soon?" She teased shutting the door behind her. He didn't reply to her comments. He laid back down on the bed and buried his face back into his pillow. "Vinnie..." she sat down next to him and rested her small hand in his back.

He let out a heavy sigh.

"There's so many women in this world... so many fishes in the sea." she giggled softly. "..and you're really handsome, you know! ...and loyal! I've never seen someone so dedicated to one person before." she paused looking down at the mass of ebony hair spread across his pillow. "You're a great guy, Vincent." she put a little more emphasis on the last syllable on his name knowing that he appreciated her avoiding the nickname.

He sighed again. "Thanks... Yuffie."

She beamed. "We could always crash the wedding, you know." she laughed. He sat up and turned over on his back so he could face her.

"I won't...ruin this for her. If this is what she wants."

Yuffie looked down. She couldn't imagine anyone picking _anyone_ over Vincent. In fact if she had met Vincent before Reno... "Well, I will." she answered stubbornly. "I hate seeing you like this."

He forced a small half smile for her. "I'm sorry."

"Will you be mad at me if I try to talk to her?"

He shook his head no with that same half smile on his face. She looked down at his digital clock. "It's only eight-thirty, I still have time." she hopped off his bed and ran out of his room without so much as a goodbye.

/\

\/

Vivina sat in her bedroom floor holding a picture album to her chest, tears rolling down her cheeks. There was a trash bag next to her that she was putting everything that she wanted to get rid of in. Getting married meant moving in with Officer Preston. She didn't want to move in with him carrying all of her baggage. Yet at the same time she didn't want to lose her memories with Squall. She finally decided on keeping all of the photo albums promising herself that one day she would be able to open them without shedding a tear. In the middle of all her sorting, she heard someone frantically ringing her doorbell.

She rushed to the door thinking it might be some kind of an emergency.

She however didn't appear to be overly shocked to see Yuffie standing there. "What's going on?"

"You're getting married! That's what's going on!" Yuffie barged into her house and turned around to glare at Vivina. "Do you realize how much this is hurting Vinnie?"

_Vinnie... _Vivina thought with a shudder. Even she hated that nickname she couldn't imagine how Vincent felt about it. She sighed softly. "It's not all about him. Do you realize how much it would hurt Baralai if I suddenly up and left him for some stranger that I've hardly even spoken to sober. You guys don't understand all that man has done for me! It just wouldn't be right if I left him."

Yuffie lost the rage she had planned on barging in here with. She honestly had thought of the second side to the story. She sighed loudly. "You're right, it's not all about Vincent. But It's not all about Baralai either! He may have done alot for you, but so has Vinnie! He saved your life from Elena! He's been watching over you for these past two years!"

Vivina crossed her arms and looked away. "I can't be around for Vincent forever so what does it matter anyway? I can die to him when I marry Baralai or after fifty years or so later from old age. Either way I'm _going _to leave him. Did you think about that?"

"You don't think I don't worry about that every day with Reno!? There's a way to change them back, I know there is. I'm not just going to give up on him like that." Her voice cracked slightly and it was her turn to look away.

"I appreciate your efforts, Yuffie. Living with him, you must care deeply for Vincent. I understand that. But I can't be that woman for him. My responsibility is with my fiancé right now. I've already agreed to marry him. A date has been set, wedding plans are being put into play, and most of all my family is finally happy with where I am right now." Vivina uncrossed her arms and moved across the space between her and younger girl, touching her shoulder softly.

Yuffie pulled away from her. "Yeah...everyone's happy ..." she gave a mock laugh. "...but you right?" she stared right into Vivina's silver colored eyes.

Vivina's mouth dropped open in shock, but she closed it quickly composing herself. "As if I deserve to be happy..."

/\

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When Yuffie didn't come barging into his room triumphantly later that night, he could only assume that the 'talk' hadn't gone well. Another two weeks passed and Vincent rarely left his room. He now started eating dinner with his roommates again, but didn't engage in any conversation. All Reno and Yuffie could do was leave him alone. Yuffie tried her hardest for him, but there was nothing she could do at this point. Reno was busy trying to keep his mind off of wanting to feed. The couple silently prayed that this infatuation would fade and he would eventually be able to move on.

Vincent charged up his phone again and found an apology text message from Vivina.

_I'm sorry if you're hurting because of me. If there is anything besides the obvious that I could do let me know._

She sent it merely to ease her mind after facing Yuffie that one evening, hoping that he wouldn't actually text her back with a request. He didn't.

There were also nearly ten missed calls from a number he didn't recognize. He wondered if that was the officer calling to threaten him not to ever contact his future bride. Much to his surprise while he sat there for a few moments trying to figure out who it was, his phone vibrated and that number popped up on his screen again. Vincent pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear pausing a few seconds before saying anything.

"Who is this?" he answered quite coldly.

"It's Paine, Vivina's friend." she answered unaffected by his rude phone etiquette. "Why aren't you stopping her?"

He was shocked that she would ask that of him. He paused for another moment before responding. "It seems...this is what she...wants."

"Are you fucking stupid?! This isn't what she wants! She's doing what she thinks everyone else wants." she paused for a while and when Vincent had no input she continued. "Her family might be happy, society might even accept her again after this, but ultimately... at the end of the day she is _still_ going to be the one that's unhappy."

He sighed softly looking down at the ruffled sheets of his bed. Through all of his observations, whenever Paine was around she never seemed to be a talker so her going out of her way contacting him like this must have meant something.

"Let me guess you're going to sit there on your ass filling your head with the lie that as long as she's happy you'll be happy, right? Bullshit!" Paine was surprised at herself; getting all involved in a friend's problem like this. That was also unlike her. Paine had always tended to her own, but for some reason she could not just sit quiet this time. She wouldn't watch her friend continue down a path that would only depress her further in the future.

Vincent winced at her honesty. "What...can I do?"

"Stand up to her. Tell her how you feel."

"He's...already won. That man has...done so much...for her...I.." He fought to try and piece his feelings together.

"It doesn't matter what he's done. If she doesn't love him, she doesn't love him!" Paine sighed and continued in her usual calm monotone. "You know what, after the accident I half expect her to give up and kill herself. I had never seen her so broken before. And to see how the public was treating her on top of that... it was too much. But then she started telling me about these pictures she'd been getting... To think that there was someone still out there that admired her like that... It was a big distraction from what was going on in her life. You have no idea...well you probably do if you were watching... how hard she tried in the beginning to find out who you were."

A warm feeling replaced the cold emptiness he had been feeling over the past weeks. His phone conversation with Paine left him with no other choice... He had to stop this wedding.

/\

\/

Vivina stood on the stool in front of the circle of mirrors. Lulu stood behind her tying up the black lace that would hold the white corset top into place. Thinking her sister was distracted enough she let her face fall for a moment. She'd been pretending all day to be so overly excited about the wedding. Lulu would be hard to fool, so she had to work harder today than ever before to make this seem real. Lulu glanced up and caught the sad look on her sister's face.

"What's wrong?"

Vivina jumped, her back straightening suddenly. "N...nothing. Are you done yet? It's already so tight..." she laughed softly. Lulu glared at her through the mirror in front of her letting the lace slip out of her fingers. She took a few steps away looking back at her sister.

"Why are you doing this?" Vivina recognized and despised that tone. She knew there would be no more reason to lie to Lulu as she was done buying her act.

"Because it's for the best." she answered simply.

"Who's it better for?" Lulu asked raising her voice slightly. Vivina remained silent biting her lip to prevent the tears from falling. No matter how hard Lulu was about to lecture her, she _had_ to do this. There was no way she could face Baralai, look him in the eye and tell him she couldn't marry him. Not now... Not after all he's done for her. She now had half of her things moved into the new house he was renting for them.

"Don't think by marrying Officer Preston you're doing _him_ a favor. If you want the best for that man you'll leave him be, broken as it might make him at first, at least he has the chance of moving on to someone who truly does love him. Give _him _a chance at true love even if you've given up on it. Let _him_ be truly happy even if you don't feel you deserve to be."

Vivina squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the tears from leaking out. No one had ever put it that way... How come she never thought if it that way... Damn Lulu for always being right. Vivina opened her eyes and let the tears fall. "It's too late for all that now, Lulu. I've gone this far. I can't back out now!"

"Oh? Well you can count me out of it." She spun around her long skirt swishing, and high heels clicking loudly as she exited the fitting room. The owner of the dressing room rushed in just as Lulu rushed out.

"Is everything ok?" she asked in a panic. Business hadn't been the best over the past couple of months. She really did not want to miss out on a sale like this.

"I'll take it." Vivina choked out.

/\

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**Yeah, I know this chapter is kind of short but hopefully the next one will make up for it**


	16. A Bride to Be

(Chapter Sixteen)

**A Bride to Be**

"Hey look what I got in the mail, Vinnie." Yuffie said barging into his room staring at the small white paper trimmed in gold lace. Vincent didn't even need to see the front of the paper to realize what it was. He was sitting on the edge of his bed texting back and forth to Paine who had just received her invitation as well and was angry with him for not have taken action yet. It had now been a month since their phone conversation and he had yet to make an effort to speak to Vivina. He was busy working with Yuffie on bettering his language skills before attempting to confront her. He needed to make sure he was one hundred percent clear to her with no misunderstandings.

Yuffie plopped down beside him on his bed and handed the paper to him though the envelope was addressed to Yuffie herself. "Look! We don't even have to find a way to sneak in. I can just bring you as my date."

He just nodded as he continued to read Paine's text messages.

"Vincent! We have to find you a tux!" Yuffie yelled clinging to his good arm and shaking him. He took his eyes of his phone and stared ahead in horror. He would have to...He swallowed hard at the thought of...

_Shopping._

"Let's go shopping!" Yuffie squealed giggling loudly. "I've got to go find Reno's credit card!" She dashed out of the room at a rate that could nearly be compared to his enhanced speed.

/\

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Vivina stood on the balcony outside of their bedroom smoking her last cigarette for the night. Though Baralai didn't like it, he wouldn't let her quit just on his behalf. She caught herself waiting for that feeling... _What the fuck are you doing? _She asked herself staring out into the darkness. He wasn't watching and he shouldn't be. She flicked her cigarette into an empty can outside and went back into the bedroom. For her fiancé's sake she crossed through the bedroom into the bathroom to brush her teeth before laying down next to him. She didn't want to give him a goodnight kiss smelling like cigarettes.

Baralai stared at her as she crawled under the sheets with him. It didn't take a brain surgeon to realize that she was having cold feet. She was practically walking around with blocks of ice on her feet obvious for everyone to see. But, the rebellious Vivina was never one to do something she didn't want to do so no one in her family or any of her other friends bothered to interfere. As far as Baralai was concerned as long as she was willing, cold feet or not he'd have her. Though his family was skeptical about Vivina with her past and all, they had been worried for him seeing him single for so long.

"Next week..." he murmured softly.

She turned to him and smiled. "Counting down?" her question came out sarcastically. He chuckled slightly.

"Till the day I can tie you down? Heck yes."

Vivina smiled although hearing the words 'tie down' out loud was a little hard.

"Plus, it just doesn't seem real... like it's never going to actually happen, you know." he turned his body towards her and slipped her arm around her waist. Vivina sighed. There was only one thing that could stop this wedding from happening...

/\

The next week...

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"Take if off!" Yuffie yelled reaching for Vincent's headband. "Come on it's going to take me at least a half hour to comb through all of that hair." Vincent jerked away from her flailing hands. He'd woken up with cold feet that morning and really wasn't feeling up to crashing a wedding anymore. There was no way he could face Vivina. Especially with how things left off the last time he saw her. "What's your problem!?" she huffed, out of breath from struggling with him.

"I...I can't Yuffie." He sat down on the closed toilet lid and buried his face into his hands. Yuffie sighed loudly.

"I already bought my dress, damnit! We're going to this wedding and you are going to get your woman! Now give me that fucking headband and hand me that brush!" She practically screamed. She sighed and continued in a calmer voice. "You didn't spend three hours in a mall with me for nothing, did you?"

Memories of that agonizing experience flooded his mind. Yuffie in his dressing room had been the most violating event of his life. Well, second most...

"I...I know, Yuffie...but..."

"But nothing, pussy!"

Vincent looked up at her in horror, unable to believe that word came from her little mouth. In that moment she yanked off his headband and proceeded to tame his mane. After and intense brushing and lots of hair mouse, she got all of his hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. She left a few shorter strands loose near his face, but overall it was a very clean look for him.

Reno came in to help him get dressed while Yuffie got herself ready.

"You better not disappoint me. If you let this wedding happen, I _will_ evict you." Reno threatened pointing his finger in the middle of Vincent's eyes. He just sighed loudly realizing he had close to no choice in the matter.

The ceremony was scheduled for three o'clock and the reception would be right after in the park across from the wedding hall. As Yuffie drove by the park she stared out at the people decorating the place. "They're wasting their time." she said with a smirk glancing over at Vincent. "Aren't they!" she growled. Vincent glanced back at the park, feeling way too uncomfortable in his black suit. He could have easily gotten away with a normal buttoned down dress shirt and a nice pair of dress pants both of which he already owned. He pulled at his collar and sighed loudly before sneezing again. He was drowning in cologne.

"Pull yourself together!" Yuffie gave him a punch to the shoulder while driving slowly down the street. She took a turn into a large parking lot and pulled Reno's car into a secluded parking spot near the back entrance of the church. "We're an hour early that gives you plenty of time to get this done, do you hear me?"

He nodded looking across the parking lot at Officer Baralai's patrol car. His features involuntarily pulled themselves into a scowl. Yuffie moved to open her door and his hand shot across her lap latching onto her wrist. "Not yet..."

"She's in there right now. This place has a suite with a dressing room upstairs just for all the wedding preparations. Traditionally the bride will walk down the hall, down the grand staircase, then up the aisle instead of pulling up in some limo and walking into some church." she explained using her hands to animate her explanation incase he got lost. "You need to get upstairs and into that dressing room."

He understood, but was only getting progressively more nervous.

Yuffie finally opened her door, got out and dragged him out with her.

/\

\/

Vivina was sitting down while Lulu did her hair. Though her sister said she would have nothing to do with the wedding, their mother would _not_ let that happen. Lulu was next in line to be the maid of honor since Paine had made it clear she would not be attending.

"Ow!" Vivina complained as Lulu burned her ear with the curling iron for the hundredth time. She wasn't doing it purposely, she was just so frustrated and angry with her sister's choice in going through with this. Lulu sighed loudly.

"You're foolish."

"I don't care...ow!" Vivina spun around in the chair and glared at her sister. Her make-up was already done. The dark eye liner and dark lipstick was replaced with more subtle colors. Looking in the mirror she barely recognized herself at all...

Lulu shrugged at her sister's glare and continued to finish curling and spraying the bride's hair. After she was done curling she pinned Vivina's long bangs back making a slight poof at the top of her head. The two didn't speak a word to each other during the whole process. After the hair, Lulu helped her into the dress. Just as she finished lacing up the back there was a knock at the door. "Stay right there." Lulu warned as she walked to the door. If it was Baralai's mother offering to help she would sure tell that woman where to go.

/\

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"No... no, Yuffie!" Vincent yelled in a whisper as Yuffie reached up and knocked on the dressing room door. She then dashed away leaving him standing there alone at the door. His heart dropped into his stomach and suddenly he felt ill. He wanted to dash away too, but his feet wouldn't move. The door opened to a slit as an eye peered out to see who it was. He swallowed hard as Vivina's sister opened the door and looked him up and down.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I...uh... could I speak with the...bride for a moment?" he spoke in a soft voice just above a whisper incase Vivina was close.

Lulu suddenly smirked. "Only if you're here to talk her out of this ridiculous mistake."

Vincent's eyes widened and relief washed over him. Lulu was an intimidating woman and if she had refused to let him in, he may have given up right there. He nodded slowly. Lulu's smile widened as she flipped the lock on the inside of the door and slid out allowing him to walk in. The door shut and locked behind him. He paused for a moment in the doorway, the entry to the dressing room had a very short hall then around the corner is where Vivina stood. No matter what he tried, he couldn't calm himself down. Despite his ring, he felt his fangs threatening to show. He closed his eyes for a moment and brought himself back to the cemetery where he first saw her.

What he would have gave to be able to just walk up to her and _speak_ to her but he couldn't...

He thought back to when he carried her home and stood beside her bed. He would have given anything to be able to crawl in next to her and comfort her all through the night, but he couldn't...

Every moment that he wanted, all the things he had wished for... he could have now. All he had to do was take those ten steps around the corner and he could do just that.

"Lu?!" Vivina called.

His eyes snapped open and the nervousness rushed back in. He sighed loudly, he'd stand here forever if he didn't start moving right now. He forced his feet to start walking and slowly but surely he came around the corner to face the bride. She was busy staring down at her dress picking an obvious black string off of it wondering where the hell it came from and how pissed she would be if that was part of the embroidery coming off.

She was beautiful...

Part of him was ready to turn away and just run, but before he could do that Vivina caught sight of him in the mirror in front of her. She froze and just stared at him. Was that even him? He cleaned up well...

Vincent forced himself to take a few more steps towards her, but speaking would be impossible. He didn't know a word of language right then.

Vivina finally snapped out of her trance. "Why are you here?" she turned around to face him directly.

"I..." he looked everywhere but her face.

"If you're here to talk me out of getting married today, you're not doing a very good job." she smirked before looking back at the mirror. She walked towards the vanity dresser and picked up her necklace. It wasn't Squall's necklace but the one Baralai bought for her to wear today. Vincent just stood there watching her as she put on the necklace and proceeded to put on her earrings. He glanced down at his watch and realized there was only twenty-five minutes left until the ceremony. He stared at her for a while longer.

Twenty-four...

"You've sat back and watched this entire time, Vincent. Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you didn't want this to happen, you should have showed up sooner?"

He didn't say anything.

Twenty-three...

He could have taken the easy route. 'Yuffie made me come, I didn't really want to be here. I just want you to be happy...' He could see Paine in the back of his mind calling his bullshit. He continued to stare at the floor, afraid to face the woman across from him. She glanced back at him before looking back in the mirror checking out what Lulu had done with her hair.

Twenty-two...

Vivina picked up her cell phone and texted Lulu to get back in here to finish touching up her hair. There were sections of it that looked like a curling iron had never touched it.

Twenty-one... twenty... nineteen...

Lulu never replied. Vivina sighed and slammed her phone down on the dresser knowing that this was probably some kind of plot. Vincent flinched at her sudden movement. "Vivina...I..."

"Save it, Vincent. Nothing you say at this point is going to change anything. How can you expect me to humiliate Baralai like that, huh? As if I don't already look like horrible person in the eyes of half of those people down there." she took a few steps towards him. She got a whiff of his strong cologne and nearly rolled her eyes at his effort. Well, she knew it was probably the efforts of others...

"You're... you're not horrible..." he said softly, finally bringing his eyes to her face. He couldn't help reaching up to touch her cheek. She slapped his hand away. The sound seemed to echo through the dressing room.

"Vivina..." he whispered in an unsteady voice. "Will you...at least...tell me something?" he closed his eyes for a while before looking down at her face again. "Will you...truly...be happy?"

"Of course I will." she snapped turning her back to him and walking back to the dresser. She picked up the curling iron herself and proceeded to touch up some of the sloppy looking spots in her hair. Her silent retreat was enough proof to Vincent that she was lying.

There was a banging on the door then Vivina heard her mother's voice. "Viv! It's mom open up! Are you ready?! You need to get your bouquet and come stand by your father in five minutes!" Vivina glanced up at Vincent as she attempted to walk passed him. His right arm shot out and grabbed her upper arm in a tight grip. She gasped at his strength as he pulled her back against his chest. He threw his arms around her and buried his face into her neck. "Please...don't do this."

Vivina tried, she really tried to hold it together. She could either scream at the top of her lungs or cry and right now crying would be the more discreet thing to do. Vincent pulled away immediately as soon as he felt her body trembling. "Don't cry... please... I'll...I'll make everything ok. I'll go talk to Baralai. It's my fault. I'll tell him it's all my fault." He stared into her wet eyes waiting for her to respond.

More banging on the door..."Vivina!"

"I can't..." Vivina sniffed as she began to cry harder. "I can't do this to him, not like this..." Watching her fall to pieces, he regretted coming here. Whatever happened to never interfering in her life again? He contemplated just walking away. Her mom banged on the door again.

"Do you want me to answer?" he asked softly.

Vivina nodded and hurried over to the vanity desk to fix herself back up. Vincent signed as he pulled the door open. Vivina's mother looked like an older version of Lulu only unlike her children she had light brown hair. "Who are you?"

"Vincent...Valentine." he answered quietly. "Vivina's not ready." he tried to block her path without being too obvious.

"What!? Well, she needs to hurry. Excuse me." she pushed past Vincent and caught her daughter trying unsuccessfully to pull herself together and fix her make-up. "What's the matter?" she ran over embracing Vivina and stroking her hair. She sent a glare at Vincent over her shoulder finally putting two and two together.

Vivina began to sob loudly loosing herself all over again. To her it wasn't just the wedding, just her feelings for Vincent or Baralai, it was every single thing crashing down on her at once. She wondered how in the world she got from laying in bed with her boyfriend everyday drinking and smoking without a single care in the world to this. She squeezed her eyes shut as if she could open them again and this would all be a dream. Instead when she opened her eyes again she saw Vincent walking away. The pain that stung her at the thought of letting him walk away again was enough to make everything clear. She broke away from her mother's embrace and ran after Vincent.

He heard her footsteps and spun around in just enough time to catch Vivina in his arms as she tripped on her dress.

She threw her arms around his neck and settled into his embrace. He sighed softly and squeezed her tighter. "Are you...ok?" he asked. "I'll leave..."

"No..." she pulled away only to press her lips against his. Vincent kissed back immediately forcing her into wall behind them. He stepped on her dress in the process tearing it. When Vivina's mother heard the rip she hurried around the corner to see what in the world was going on.

"Vivina!"

Vincent broke the kiss quickly taking a step away from the bride and looking down shamefully. Vivina looked away not wanting to see the disappointment in her mother's face. Boy, did she have some explaining to do and only seconds until her wedding was to start.


End file.
